A Hero's Redemption
by Hybridbabe
Summary: When Robin falls, it’s up to the Titans, an old enemy, and a new friend to help him see the light... (Sinking Into Slade Sequel) COMPLETE!
1. 1: A Good Thing Turned Bad

**Title:** A Hero's Redemption  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Teen Titans! DC Comics owns every bit of it, and so does the creators of the show!  
**Summary:** When Robin falls, it's up to the Titans, an old enemy, and a new friend to help him see the light... (**Sinking Into Slade Sequel**)  
**Author's Note:** Well, here I am, getting squared away at what will hopefully be a very, very wild and wonderful ride! I'm all geared up and ready to go with this fic, and I've been getting ideas for another TT related one... same sort of genre... Anyone hear of the Batman/Catwoman love story? I thought I'd do a new spin on it, thanks to some things I've thought of... Anyway, I've changed a few things in this first part of the chapter, which, as some of you already know, I put up as a preview at the end of **_SINKING INTO SLADE_**, so if it's slightly different, that's why. Also, I believe it was **Alexnandru Van Gordan** who mentioned me creating a "Mary Sue" character. Actually, this isn't true. The girl I'm 'creating' is, unfortunately, nobody I've thought up: someone else did. And she actually **IS** (or rather, was) a Teen Titan during the Dick Grayson/Robin age, and was one when he became Nightwing. Don't believe me? Look up the **COMIC** version of the Teen Titans, and if you look hard enough at the description I put down and pictures of her, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. I'm just expanding on her character, and introducing her in an entirely different route than they are.

Anyway, here we go. **Enjoy!**

* * *

**FIVE MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF THE TITANS...**

The day was cold and dark, a severe contrast to the usual comings and goings of Jump City, and a lone girl shivered in an alleyway, her long black hair trembling ever so slightly against the wind. The streets were bare of people, glass from sidewalk shops strewn every which way, and there wasn't a street corner without the now routine, black and metal clad foot soldier of the one called Slade, their stony glare expecting nothing, and receiving no trouble at all. The wind howled a wolf's call between the passageways between buildings, and called to the people who once lived here. Where had they gone? Where did they go? But no one seemed to be around to answer.

It made her shiver in uneasy anticipation, like an accident waiting to happen.

She could use her powers if she wanted to, scout around in the skies above, but she had heard from a neighboring town that the second in command to Slade would come to expect weird things. She was definitely weird, so she figured she'd better stay out of sight. Even amongst the garbage and the refuse, she felt weird, awkward, standing out more than she should, but she couldn't take the chance of being seen.

Watching a pair of drones pass her alley, she kept wondering about the Teen Titans. Where had they gone? Where was Raven, the half-demon witch? Starfire, the alien? Beast Boy the shape shifter, or Cyborg the half man, half machine? Where were the Titans?

She had asked such a question to the folks she hitchhiked with in the other city, but they couldn't answer her. When she mentioned the fifth Titan, they glared, and avoided the question. Why? This city could use him just like any of the others.

Then again, maybe not; the city looked like it needed more than just one more Titan: it looked like it needed a few saints and saviors.

She rubbed her bare arms, trying to warm them, and cursed the day she decided on a red, no sleeve top. It was her favorite, embroidered with white stars along the left side, with scarlet hip huggers to match, but for today, she should've went with something warmer. If the cold of the day didn't get her, the Slade drones would.

A piece of paper was clutched in her hand, and she stopped rubbing, looked down on it and read the first few lines of an address scrawled on it, even though she knew it by heart by now. It was the address to Titan Tower, the central point of superhero power in this city, and she needed to head there straight away. It looked like the city needed heroes, and plus, she needed a place to stay. After being kicked out of everywhere she went, she was desperate to belong somewhere, especially around people who had abilities like hers.

At least they wouldn't kick her out, just because she was different. They'd surely accept her for who she was...

A fly buzzed around her hand, and she shooed it away, sighed, then focused on her task, determined. "Time to find the Titans," she said, and started on her way. It would take her a couple hours to get to her destination, but that didn't matter: just as long as she got there.

* * *

Electricity crackled and jolted every fiber of his being, but Robin never even grimaced at the pain. Strapped to a lab table, volts of electrolytes lit his face like light bulbs, arcing back and forth across his chest and abdomen but he couldn't give in, he couldn't give up. He was strong, so very, very strong, stronger than anything, stronger than steel. He was a superman, a beast, a creature of the night and darkness, and a few shocks were nothing to him; he'd suffered worse. He would adapt, and survive; it's what he did best.

It's what they both did best.

A quick glance to his right, and the sight of his father comforted him. Even Robin had never seen his face, for he'd never show it to him, but it didn't seem to matter. He was, in essence, his father, and Robin respected and adored him just the same. The man gave him strength, and assurance, filling him with more than enough determination to see through this stamina game. He was trained by the best to be the best, and he felt lucky to have been the son of such a great man. He'd make his father proud: he always did.

As soon as the shocks had started, they stopped, and he unclamped himself from the table before he jumped to the floor. Like always, the stinging at his temples throbbed, but for now, he'd ignore it. It was nothing, just another fading memory, like the many he'd since forgotten. Blinking, he adjusted his raked mask and smiled, eagerly waiting to be addressed.

His father casually walked into the lab from the control room and nodded, his voice showing signs of his extreme pleasure. "Good, Robin. You did better this time. I increased the shock level and you didn't even flinch."

"It was nothing, Father," he replied humbly, proud of himself. He adjusted his usual metal collar over his black and orange uniform, the wickedly curved "S" gleaming in the dim light. "I just did everything you told me to do: I blocked it out, and achieved the objective."

"You learn quick, son. If I'm not careful, you'll be better than me someday."

He laughed heartily, shaking his head furiously from side to side. "Never. You're the best, Father. Nothing can ever stop you."

"And don't you forget it." He lovingly ruffled the boy's ebony hair and chuckled, delighted. "I'll give you twenty minutes to rest, and then we'll continue along with your training. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" With that, he was gone, grateful for the rare opportunity to sleep for once. Sleep, his father told him, was for the weak, and it was weaned out of him long ago. He usually settled for his daily adrenaline shots anyway, so sleep was a gift. He must have pleased his father greatly.

"Robin." The voice drew him back, and he immediately stopped, obeying. "I look forward to seeing how capable you have become when the time is right. You'll become something great one day when you take my place and the entire world is at your feet."

He beamed. "I look forward to it, Father. Good night."

"Sweet dreams, my boy."

* * *

Slade grinned wickedly as he watched the boy leave, and relished the complete control he had over him. Robin had no idea what had been done to him, what was continually being done to him, and he preferred to keep it that way. The more ambiguous he was, the better off he'd be, and the better to serve his plans. Besides, it was too late to turn back now, for both of them: The Boy Wonder's memories were almost wiped clean of everything but what Slade had told him, and Slade himself was beginning to become misty eyed when it came to the boy. Robin now had a real father, someone close enough to Batman that he could merge those memories, and Slade had a successor, an apprentice, a son.

Like it or not, Robin made the madman proud, and made him sentimental.

The ever ingenious Doctor Simms shuffled into the room, his eyes bleary and cold. "Slade, please. I beg you, let me go." Wallowing on the floor, he cried, his body shuddering uncontrollably. "I can't do this anymore."

The mastermind considered him as one would regard a fly. "No. Doctor, you misunderstand your objective in this. The purpose of you being here is to serve me, and me alone. Thanks to you, I finally have control of the one person I could regard as my own son. He's mine, and in just a few more hours, that change will become permanent. I've been waiting for the moment for years, Simms, and not even your insolence will ruin it, not this time."

"What you did to that boy is murder," cried Simms. "You've completely deluded his mind!"

"Thanks to your 'Memory Override' serum and the shock treatments, I think it's more like improving him. Robin has succumbed to my will, and I appreciate all the help you've given me in the matter. Do you think I'd let you go now? Just when the fun has just begun?"

"You're murdering his personality! He's an entirely different person than who was chained up in heavy shackles! You've turned him into your own little lap dog!"

Slade laughed. "You forgot to mention both broken and bleeding. Robin was broken and bleeding when he came to me, and this time, there was no blackmail or double crossings. Out of his own free will, he asked for this life, and to take him away from his pain. I only helped him realize that the pain he felt was miniscule and he can endure it with the proper... treatment. I gave him a life, Simms, because he had asked me to, so you have no right to judge me."

The poor doctor collapsed, exhausted on the floor, his blue eyes staring blankly. "I hope you rot in hell, Slade."

"Then by all means, you take the first step in, Doctor, because you were the one who helped me. Thanks to you, I have what I wanted."

"The Titans'll-"

"Will do what? They're all dead, Simms. They're all dead. None of them will ever going to take Robin away from me. I'll never let him go!"

Simms could only nod, forced to agree. But when Slade turned his back, the old man whispered softly, "That's what you think..."

* * *

The red clad girl ran through the alleyways, knowing the city by heart as she twisted and turned, trying to achieve her goal. She had to make it to the Tower; it was urgent! The city was crawling with drones, and two had already found her, tailing her to no end. She was fast, faster than most regular people. But these were Slade's robots. There's no telling what they were capable of.

She adjusted the black backpack on her back and quickly cut a sharp left, following the path until, to her dismay, it lead to a dead end. No way out, there was no way out, and the footsteps were closing in on her...

At first, she didn't notice the open sewer hole, but she found out quickly as something slimy gripped her feet, and another slid over her mouth to keep from screaming. Wide eyed, she struggled as it pulled her downward and sealed the world above her by moving the lid back in place. Completely dark, the tentacles finally let her go, and she screamed loudly, scared out of her mind. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT **ARE** YOU?"

What surprised her the most was a return greeting. "Hey, could you quit screaming in my ear? You're giving me a migraine!"

Somewhere in the darkness, a blinding emerald light flickered on, and the girl stared, wide eyed, at the collection of strangers standing around her. Staring, slack jawed, she gaped, and gasped, finally recognizing who exactly they were.

"Welcome to the new lair of the Titans," replied Raven, frowning worriedly and glancing at Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg before looking back at the girl. "We saw you wandering in the alleyways, and Beast Boy was kind enough to get a good look at the piece of paper in your hand, and hear what you said. You were looking for us. I want to know why."


	2. 2: Muddled Memories

**Alexnandru Van Gordan**- ROFLMAO I know EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL! Believe me, if it were up to me, I wouldn't even write this stuff, but the idea was too good to pass up! Gives me shivers all the time! You have to understand though, as sick as Slade is (or fiendishly brilliant, depends on how you look at it), he has tried so hard to control Robin when our Boy Wonder was his apprentice. He never could, and now, he's taking advantage of Robin because he, literally, did not want to live anymore. Robin was done being Robin: his friends were dead, Batman wasn't going to bail him out, he was broken and bleeding, and the pain was just too much. That's why he came to Slade. He didn't come to be Slade's apprentice: he came to die. He wanted to, because he had nothing left to live for, but then Slade says that he can give Robin a life. At that point, Robin's just like, "I'm dead. Spiritually, I'm dead." And he doesn't care anymore. So he says "Sure, do whatever you want, because I'm through. If you're not going to kill me, at least make my existence as painless as you can. Do whatever you want with me, and be damned sure I don't remember it." Of course, Slade would not be Slade without taking advantage of an opportunity. To be honest, I do think that Slade is lonely. There's no one to talk to, no one who's even a challenge until Robin comes along. Robin's interesting. He thinks the same way, he has the same sort of drive behind his actions, and if you really think about it, the only thing that makes Slade different from Batman is that he's on the wrong side of the law. I view Slade as a mirrored version of Batman: while Bruce does his damnedest not to fall deeper into the abyss, Slade accepts it with open arms. It's that Slade/Batman comparison which makes Slade so intriguing to me, and what makes him such a wonderful villain. As Tim Drake once said, "A Batman needs a Robin", and I add, "and a Slade needs an Apprentice". It just, in this case, happens to be the same poor, screwed up boy LOL! Also, the Father/Son thing just goes to show you how bad things have gotten for Robin. He can't even remember his life beyond what Slade has told him, and he's just absolutely pathetic for the moment. He's completely brainwashed, and Slade has complete control over him. That will eventually change, however, thanks to the plan I'm cooking up... I'll give you a hint: the "Old Enemy" is someone we've seen, but was never the same twice. I'll even solve a mystery from the series too, so keep reading! Thanks for reviewing!

**maroonedpirate11**- LOL it's ok! I'd be like a whiny three-year-old too if this story was so good, I wanted more on the spot! LOL Thanks for the review! And here you go! MORE!

**Maddie**- Don't worry, you caught me on a really creative kick. More is on the way! Thanks for reviewing!

**Mystyre**- Yup, I'd figure that would throw people off, but I knew that the connections were there. No way would Batman agree to Robin having shock therapy... And don't worry, the next installment is coming faster than you'd think: I'm really on a roll here! Thanks for the note! I appreciate it!

**Infamous One**- (_WARNING BELLS GO OFF!)_ **DING DING DING DING!** We have a winner! YES! It's Wonder Girl! That's exactly who this new girl is! You're the only one who's gotten it! Yeah, this girl is the original Wonder Girl, but I'm going to have to go with her named "Troia" This go around. Besides the fact that it sounds cool, I don't want to blend too much into the whole "Teen Titans/Justice League" thing. I've got to set each character apart from the rest of the DC universe, and Troia's no exception. So, she shall be named Troia in this series. And don't worry, her bracelets are there, I just haven't addressed them yet! (and I will in this next chapter... something to the extent of Beast Boy oohing and ahhing about it, I think... That would totally impress him, wouldn't it?) And yes, Slade has a soft spot for Robin. Always has. It's the reason why he saved Robin's life in Masks and the reason he pursued him in the Apprentice duo. It's just now, he's able to bring that out because of the fact that Robin doesn't remember how the first "apprenticeship" went about. He has no idea how bad it's gotten, and how bad it'll become when (or if, I'm not sure what I'll put in here) his rewritten memory becomes permanent. That would be really, REALLY insane if the change was permanent... Hmmmm... Can someone say, "Divergence"? OOOOO, I love being an insane, TT obsessed fan fiction writer! That sounds awesome! (Great, now I have another plot bunny to roll with... **WOULD YOU FREAKIN' RODENTS STOP**- (_A massive landslide of plot bunny rabbits bury her completely)_ Ok **FINE**, I'll write! I'll write!) LOL anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**KaliAnn**- Yeah, I thought that was a cool aspect, and it would be the only way Slade could truly keep Robin under control. I thought, ever since I heard the line, "Who knows. I might even become like a father to you" from Apprentice pt. 2, whether that would've actually happened if Robin wasn't rescued. I was wondering if Robin would get Stockholm Syndrome, where he'd actually start believing everything Slade was telling him because of the constant exposure to him. So this was sort of a way to do it all faster. Either way, it really works, and it's a way to really explore Slade's character, as well as his relationship with Robin. And you've got it up now? I'll have to take a look at it! Awesome! Thanks for the review!

**Aeris-Raven**- YES! YES! The Titans are alive! But you won't find out how until a little later down the road. And Jinx had a part in it, although she didn't know she did. And you'll actually find out this new girl's powers pretty soon! And I've already revealed her name in my notes to my reviewers here (and will "officially" do it in the chapter today) so you don't have to worry! And yes, poor, poor, **POOR ROBIN**! He can't even remember his friends at this point. He's got no concept of life beyond or before Slade... It's sad... And yes, Slade is very, very evil, but also, he's just very lonely. He's wanted a son for years, a companion, someone he can confide in and someone he can belong with, and getting an apprentice was his way of doing it. Yes, it's a bad way for an actually human reason, but he also did it for other reasons. He needed a successor, and he needed something to control. **THAT** is what makes him such an amazing villain: he'd do anything to satisfy his companionship, as long as he can control it. He's basically a misunderstood control freak. He doesn't like surprises, and Robin, although the perfect companion, always gave him that constantly. But in a way, you can't think of Slade as "all bad", just as a reverse Batman: he's not bad, he's just on one side of the law, and not on the other. While Batman stands for triumph over evil and resorting to dark ways, Slade stands for triumph over good, resorting to dark ways, but also isn't totally bad. So, it depends on your point of view, I think. In a way, I actually pity Slade: he doesn't have someone like Batman has Robin. And that makes for a lonely person. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**WOW**. Just getting through the **Author's Notes**, and already I'm up to three pages in a word document! **WOW**! That's amazing!

You know, I started this fic September of last year, with five reviews, and I wasn't too sure of my talent in this area because I'd never done a Teen Titans fic before. At day one, I expected to fail at this, because I was a rookie at it, but I kept going, creating this story with a billion ideas in my head, and finishing (after a slight hiatus) on a spectacular note. Now, the first chapter gets 7 reviews, dozens of standing ovations, and I feel like the Queen of the Nile here! WOW! This is absolutely amazing: I've never had a really, really good start out like this one before (with the exception of one fic, because everyone seemed to jump on that like a pack of hyenas on an antelope (_rolls eyes)_ crazy Summerland fans lol).** I owe it all to you guys, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!** You've given me ideas and fueled my obsessions, and I can't even begin to express my gratitude. You've truly made this an amazing experience for me, and I can't thank you enough. This fic wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable for me to write as it is for you to read if you didn't touch my heart like you did. Thank you! You've restored my confidence in me a dozen times over, and I'll never forget it. Thank you!

Now, on to the good stuff! This chapter is where you'll learn the name of the mystery girl, and you'll begin to get a good idea of how bad Robin's gotten, and the like.

Oh did I mention a certain character by the name of Red X?

On with the show! (I'm so devious!)

* * *

The red clad girl gasped aloud, amazed at the sight before her. "The Teen Titans! You're the Teen Titans!" Wide-eyed, she surveyed the group of heroes, shocked. These were the Titans! The Teen Titans! But there was something different here...

She looked closer, and then, it dawned on her: these were different Titans. The girl known as Raven stood straighter, her deep blue cloak caked with dust and grime. Her hair was longer than usual, creeping down her back like overgrown ivy, and her face was even more stern and serious than usual. Starfire stood next to her, and the changes continued. Her hair was also longer, greasy and dirty, bangs grown out even more and curling behind her ears. Her clothes were torn in places, and the spark of childish innocence was gone from her eyes, the emerald orbs now dull and placid. Beast Boy stood to the left, a grim expression masking his emotions. Not a joke, it seemed, was in his heart, and all the fun had gone out of life for him. He was serious, something he almost never was, and patient, another off characteristic. Even Cyborg, whose helmet was not a bluish brown with mud, held is different sort of vigilance than expected, silently staring and at attention, not even bothering to be hotheaded over the leadership Raven now seemed to possess. It looked like they'd been through hell and back, and the absence of one seemed to speak volumes.

The girl looked around, and, rather naively, asked. "Where is the other?"

"I asked you a question," replied Raven, redirecting the conversation deliberately. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I came here because I needed a place to stay," she replied, slightly off-center with the witch's questions. "I just came from Star City, and I wanted to-"

"Star City?" asked Cyborg, interested. "That's where the Green Arrow's from."

"You know Ollie?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Speedy's a good friend of ours."

Delighted, she nodded. "Yeah, Roy's great, when he's not being an obsessive, over compulsive crime fighter, bent on evil's destruction." She kicked a pebble at the reeking streams of sewage, trying to avoid every route towards talking about her past; that was always a touchy area.

But Raven wouldn't let it go. "I repeat my previous question: who are you, and why are you here?"

"I told you, I came here because I-"

"No, you gave me an excuse. Do you really think I believe you have no place to stay? What about your own home, wherever you're from?"

The girl grimaced. She never wanted to delve into this when she had to... "I don't have a home."

"What?"

"I'm orphaned." She sighed. "I don't have a home. The last thing I remember about having an actual home was being a place where I felt I belonged. When I was there, I got these," she held up her twin bracelets on each arm, each onegleaming in the dim light, "and then, nothing. That happened about a couple years ago, and I've been looking to get back to that place for a long time now. Haven't seemed to find it, but I hope I will." Brightening a bit, she smiled. "Then I heard of a team of people who were just like me. They had powers the way I do, and they used them to help the world. I didn't have a purpose in my life, never really did, but then I heard about you guys. I thought that maybe, if I helped out once in awhile, if I was a Titan, I'd have a home, and a purpose, two things I've been without for longer than I can remember."

Beast Boy scowled slightly, disbelieving. "I'm not buying it. Why did you really come here?"

Puzzled, she glanced at him. "W-what?"

"Why did you really come here? You sound a bit too good, and too eager to be true."

"Since when were you ever suspicious of anyone?" she shot back, insulted. "I came here for a place to belong, and you'd rather shut me out! I thought you of all people would have welcomed me with open arms!"

"So you've heard of us?" asked Starfire, true to her nature and trying to make peace by diverting the conversation.

"Are you kidding? Everyone's heard of the Titans! Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and-"

"And that's all," interrupted Raven, a slight, pained expression passing over her face for a flicker of a moment. "That's all."

Silence. Wait, there were five Titans, weren't there? She thought there were five. Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and... "Where's Robin?"

Starfire answered sadly. "There is no Robin. Not any more."

* * *

Twenty minutes was a long time to sleep, and Robin was glad for it. He'd pleased his father, and he'd made him proud. Now, he enjoyed his reward like a little kid, gobbling up every scrap of it before it was taken away again. He was actually looking forward to it: It wasn't often he'd spend twenty minutes alone in his room.

He took off the metal plates of his uniform, stripped off his gloves and threw his boots on the floor, going as fast as he could until there was nothing left to do. Hopping into bed, he fluffed the pillow and instantly drifted off to sleep, expecting nothing but rejuvenation, just like his adrenaline shots. However, this wasn't like them at all. At least those didn't have side effects. Sleep, however, had one major one.

He began to dream.

In his mind's eye, there he was with a girl. Strange, alien, orange skin with red hair the color of strawberries in the summertime. Her eyes were emerald green, beautiful pools of the greenest grass, and she smiled and laughed at a joke he'd told to her on top of a Ferris Wheel. He could feel himself laughing at it too, and was surprised to see his uniform had changed from the cold, metallic metal to green gloves and a black and yellow cape. His mask was different too, less raked, less feral, and more warm, friendly. An "R" made of cloth replaced the cool, harsh and wicked "S" above his left breast, and the scene seemed somehow familiar, like a distant memory he no longer remembered. The girl he was with, he knew her, knew her very well, but his mind was wrapped in fog, completely oblivious to one thing.

He couldn't remember her name.

Moments later, he could see himself with a weirdly colored green boy, the pointed elf ears accenting his comically mussed jade hair. His bright eyes laughed with silent jokes while he furiously gripped a game controller, concentrating on beating the crap out of him in a racing game. He had a few pieces of celery in his mouth, and it dawned on Robin that this boy was a vegetarian. He wouldn't eat meat, no matter what the cost.

Why he was that way, Robin had no idea.

His uniform was ripped and shredded, and he felt her in his mind. Like a soft whisper, he could sense her presence like a sixth sense, easing his pounding heart and bruised body. Her head was usually covered in a dark blue hood in battle, her eyes glowing white with explosive power. She'd weathered storms with him, helped him, guided him when he needed it and he'd done the same for her. She was a confidant, a close friend, but for the life of him, he didn't know why.

He couldn't recall when they'd met.

The last was a hulking figure, African-American with most of his body encased in machinery. Hot headed and not the least bit trite, he was an extraordinary engineer, building things with remarkable accuracy and little error. He'd been there too, when they were all together, one red, glowing eye taking in everything and analyzing, understanding, figuring things out like a superhuman computer. He'd laughed at his jokes, been on some sort of missions with them, left and came back within days, and never let him down.

But his vigilance and trust couldn't evoke any memory in Robin's mind.

Finally, he saw a time before them, a dark, imposing figure towering over him, a wraithlike shadow among the darkness. It was a man unlike any other, pushing him, training him, sometimes controlling him in a way he didn't like, but nevertheless respected. He saw himself practicing kung fu, jujitsu, boxing and tae-kwon-do, earning the right to wear the uniform he'd seen before. The figure wore an imposing mask, two raked, horn looking things springing from the top, and a permanent frown fixed on his face. His body was chiseled to perfection underneath a dark grey uniform, a symbol of an animal emblazoned on his chest. Robin knew him, he knew he knew him, but all he could do was stare, dumbfounded.

He couldn't remember the shadow of the bat, or the face behind it.

His alarm jolted him awake, and he jumped up, soaked in sweat. Closing his eyes, he rubbed them with his fingers, trying to sort out the images in his mind. Why were these people so familiar? Why were they burned in the back of his mind, people he knew he should know, but had no idea why he didn't? Why were they tormenting him like they did?

Moaning, he sat there, trying to comprehend. What life was he remembering? Why now? He was happy with his life: his father was fair and just, his way the only way. He'd trained Robin since birth, been with him for every moment of every day of his life. So what were these images of something else entirely? Why did they seem important?

He couldn't figure it out. It just baffled him even more.

"Robin." His father was calling him.

"Yes, Father?"

"Time's up. I hope you had a good sleep."

He hesitated. Should he tell his father this? Should he tell him about the images? "It was... not what I expected."

"Oh? In what way?"

"Father, have you been lying to me? For my own good?"

Silence. "Where would you ever get such an idea, my boy?"

"I've been having these dreams... of something else. People I feel like I've known but-"

"Let me guess: was it a group of people, an orange alien, a half-machine like creature? Maybe a green elf and a witch in a blue hood?"

Surprised, Robin yelped. "How, how'd you..."

"How did I know? You forget, Robin: I know you better than you do." Slade's voice dropped from commandeering to sympathetic. "Don't worry about them, Robin. They're not your friends anymore. I made sure of that when I killed them."

When he'd killed them? "Where they friends of-"

"No. You see, those were the Teen Titans, son. They're a ruthless bunch of miscreants that terrorized our city and killed innocent people. They were so powerful, so evil that I had to do what's best." He could practically see his father balling his fists. "I had to kill them. They were monsters, Robin. They were sick, twisted monsters that needed to be put down like the dogs they were."

"But, what I saw of them in my mind, they were... nice. Friends almost."

"That's what they wanted you to think. You see, the hooded one was a witch, a very, scheming, conniving half-demon witch who wanted to turn you against me. Shake off those images, Robin: they're only false memories. They tried to turn you against me, take you away from me, but I brought you back to the side you rightfully belong to. I couldn't bear to fight my own son, so I did everything to save you."

"There was another one... a man. Dressed in black, and he had some sort of symbol on his chest. I felt like I knew him."

"That was the mastermind behind the plot, Robin: The Batman. He's the reason why you were turned against me. You see, he wanted you to be his... apprentice. His ward, his accomplice. He was a demon who couldn't bear to have you fight on anyone else's side except his. So he used his henchmen, a couple of kids, to forcibly take you from my side, and implanted memories inside your own mind to keep you from me." Another pause. "But you do know which set of memories is right and wrong... do you?"

Robin nodded, although his father couldn't see it, and smiled, relieved, dismissing his early wariness and banishing the dreams from his mind. "Yes. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Father."

"It's alright. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, I want you to do a perimeter check of the city. I've heard from a few of my drones that one of the Batman's henchmen has recently entered the city. She's new, someone I've never encountered, so be on your guard: there's no telling what she is able to do."

He became resolute, and started to attach the armor to his uniform. He had work to do. "I'll see to it, Father. Don't worry: I'll do whatever you say."

"Good boy."

* * *

"And that's the jist of it," explained Cyborg, addressing the girl. "Ever sense we woke up, we've been laying low, Doing what we can to stay alive. Slade's got complete control over Robin, thanks to whatever's been done to him, and the city's gone to crap."

Raven agreed. "I've tried to find a way into his mind, but I can't seem to get anywhere close. Whatever's happened to Robin, it's completely blocking my mental powers from reaching him. Either something physical is blocking it or-"

"Or somehow, he doesn't want the connection," finished the girl, puzzling over it.

"No way! There's no way he'd intentionally block Rae! Unless he..." Beast Boy gasped, an idea popping into his mind.

The girl picked up on it, and nodded, speaking what already dawned on her. "Unless he doesn't even remember you." She smiled bitterly, and continued. "I'm thinking Slade did something to him. From what I know about Slade, which, is probably as much as you guys, he's bad news. Whatever he wants, he gets, and from the horror stories I've heard in Star City, I've got a feeling that he wanted Robin."

"Slade is all about control," admitted Raven. "Believe me, I know that better than anyone. When he worked for my father, I almost completely dominated me, just to send me the message I've known since birth."

"Why didn't he come to us though? We could've-"

It was then that Starfire spoke up, surprising everyone because they realized she hadn't said a thing for quite awhile. "I believe that you are right, Friend Cyborg, but we have forgotten one important thing. He believes us to be dead, so contacting us by our communicators would be improbable."

"But why would he turn to Slade? Why would he willingly be with him?"

The situation was uncanny. The red clad girl sighed, instantly recognizing the situation for what it was. "Because he didn't have anything else to live for. His friends were dead, he had nowhere to go, and existence is painful. No home, no purpose, and he wanted no pain. Robin wanted to die, and if he was going to live, he'd want it to be as painless as possible."

They all turned to her and stared, slack jawed.

She shrugged. "I've had experience. Lots of experience."

"Then if Robin's under some sort of brainwashing, we need to figure out how to break it," said Raven. "My telepathy won't be enough."

"Maybe it's time for the Titans to rise again. Maybe that'll jog his memory," suggested Cyborg, anxious. "If we can reappear, then the hold Slade has on him will-"

"Wait." They all turned to stare at her, and she blushed, fingering her knapsack. "Slade knows you all. Every single one of you he can shoot on sight, and Robin would never even know you were there. And I'm too new for him to instantly connect with. However," she grinned, thinking. "I have a friend who just might be what Robin needs. He could get closer to Robin than any of us could."

"Yeah? Who?"

"You'll see!" she told Cyborg, and they all stared at her as she shot off, flying towards the sewer drain entrance with relative ease.

"Whoa, you can fly?" yelped Beast Boy in awe.

"Yeah, and my bracelets are bullet proof!" she replied, moving the lid aside. "You should see me when my super strength kicks in! And by the way, my name's Troia!" And with swiftness, she flew out, replaced the lid and left, leaving the Titans behind her in the darkness.

"I like her."

"Beast Boy, you like everybody new who comes in."

"Ouch, that was harsh, Rae."

''It's true though. And we have a bad history when it comes to letting people join the team."

"Hate to say it, Rae, but I think Beast Boy's right. She doesn't have that same vibe Terra did, and think about it: Terra was good in the end. She wasn't entirely evil."

"Will Friend Troia become a Teen Titan, Friend Raven? Please?She has the strength of ten gnarlpoles and can fly. She is like me without my starbolts! We can be friends!"

"Yeah, why is it that the girls get to fly? I want to fly!"

"You can when you morph into a bird, BB."

"That doesn't exactly help, Cy."

Raven sighed, feeling pressured. "If she can pull through with this friend of hers, then for the moment, we'll give her honorary membership. Without Robin, we're at a disadvantage, and we need all the help we can get."

* * *

A shadow passed along the wall, and a cape billowed out amongst the darkness. Glaring out of a mask covering their face, the figure shifted from shadow to shadow, flitting between visible and invisible so as not to be seen. "I've heard all I need to know," the voice said, their voice garbled by an electric voice changer. "This might actually be kind of fun."

He'd heard what she said, didn't say, and agreed. Robin needed a bit of convincing that he wasn't Slade's toy, and if it was going to help the Titans, it might be mutually beneficial for this sneak thief as well.

A slim figure moved from rooftop to rooftop, faster than he expected, and he stared, wide eyed, at a boy in a black and orange uniform, complete with all the metallic plate trimmings. Hmm, seemed like Robin was a bit too eager to resume his life as Slade's apprentice after all...

Tailing him, the other kept out of sight. The longer he watched the former Boy Wonder, the better he could gauge the situation. And, the better he could get to know him again. The last time had ended so... short.

"And so the fun begins," said Red X, smiling behind his skeleton's mask. "Time for my coming out party."


	3. 3: The X Factor

**maroonedpirate11**- Oh lordy, you're not going to know how awesome this will get... This is the mega jumbo package, ladies and gents, so be in for a wild ride! I WILL UPDATE AGAIN! Keep your pants on, LMAO! Thanks for the review.

**KaliAnn**- We already know the girl's name: Troia. And you'll find out a bit about Red X's angle in this chapter, so don't worry, that little bit's taken care of! Thanks for the note!

**Infamous One**- He is evil! He's twisted the entire story around to make him seem like Batman, and Batman seem like the anti-Batman (ain't he twisted?). And I always believed that yes, he needed a Robin. Slade's one of those crazy kooks who gets lonely after awhile, and he needs someone there to keep him from going off the deep end more than once. I know in the comics, he had two kids, Jericho and Rose, but it was my understanding that he didn't pay attention to either one. He was a neglectful father who didn't bother to get to know his own kids. So, in the TV series, he just grabs the person who thinks, speaks, and does things the same as he does. And yep, Red X's the anti-Robin, and it's interesting because X is the direct opposite of Robin, the REAL superhero Robin, and he's going to be the one who could possibly be the one to crack through Slade's brainwashing. By reminding Robin of what he is and being what he's not, he could potentially do everything the Titans couldn't. And I actually have the whole Slade/Red X relationship (yes, I'm making it a relationship, but not the kinky slash deal!) in this fic, so when it gets down to the wire, you'll know it.

**Insanity for Dummies**- Thanks for your review! And in answer to your questions, Slade's doing what he always wanted to do: get Robin on his side. He's doing it by actually submitting Robin to shock therapy and serums, because in time, (you have to remember, this story takes place 5 months after SIS) those treatments are slowly, completely wiping out every single memory in Robin's head. Slade's literally brainwashing him by deleting every single thought he ever had, except the ones that Slade's enforced (such as obedience to him, the whole father/son angle, etc). By wiping out Robin's memories, he'll have total control over the boy, because the Boy Wonder would have no memory if who he is, no memory of his friends, no memory of even Batman, and he's completely dependent on Slade to fill in the blanks. It's like Rob's a really, REALLY BAD amnesia patient: he'll cling to whoever seems to "know" him before he was amnesiac. Plus, at the end of SIS, His friends were dead, Batman couldn't save his butt, and he basically had nothing to live for. He was a broken, bleeding, heartbroken bird that didn't have anything to live for anymore. He went to Slade, and basically said. "I'm dead. Spiritually, I'm dead, and you always wanted me, so do whatever the heck you want. I don't care anymore. You want me? Then screw me up so badly that I won't even remember it, because if I do, I won't hesitate to kill you." He's sunk so low that he just gave up, and when Slade did the shock treatments, the serums, everything, he resisted at first, but then just accepted it because he was beginning to forget his older life. Slade put the "it's all fun and games" mentality into him in regards to the shocks, and the adrenaline injections he got in the place of sleep were actually the override serum, which further degrades Robin's old memories and enforces the "newer" ones (a.k.a., whatever Slade tells him is the "truth"). This entire "treatment" thing is also reminiscent of Robin/Tim Drake's brainwashing in the flashbacks in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (at the time I wrote this, I never even thought about it, until I suddenly remembered it when I watched it!). In that case, it was the Joker who fried Tim's brain, and, unwillingly, the poor guy became Little JJ, Joker's "son", if you will, slightly nutty and completely off his rocker. Tim was literally driven to insanity because of these treatments, and I believe Barbara (in Batman/TM's time) said it took a year before he was back to where he was supposed to be, but he never shook it off, ever. It's a ghastly way to get what you want, and I can actually picture Slade doing this same sort of a deal with Robin/DG. He's just got that appeal. Also, Jinx will hopefully get an appearance soon, if I can figure out a way to work her back into the story line...

Well, here I am again, sitting in front of my computer with the desire to write more of this fiction. (BTW, thank you to **Infamous One** for the nickname "One-Eye" for Slade!) I'm sorry if this piece isn't quite up to the caliber you all are used to seeing, but hopefully, you still like it. I got a bit stuck with what I wanted after page 4 (the total of this chapter is 9 pages).. Anyway, on to the more inportant details/questions: Will Robin ever come to his senses? Will Red X be a good guy or a bad guy? Willwe find out how the Titans survived? What's up with Troia? Will Beast Boy ever get his Moped? (ok, that last one's rhetorical lmao!) We'll find out soon! Hold onto your hats, here we go!

* * *

The chase was on. 

Red X silently watched Robin, the former Boy Wonder, from afar, observing him, analyzing him, trying to find some sort of sign of the corruption he knew had gone down. From what Raven said, it was bad, very bad, and he didn't even know what was up or down. Robin had been, literally, brainwashed, whether against his will or not, and it was X's job to hopefully jog his memory.

Hey, it made for an interesting day, and he wasn't one to complain about it being potentially fun.

Besides, for the moment, he'd do anything for the Titans. With a little memory recall and Slade's defeat, maybe, just maybe, things would go back to normal in this locked down town.Thanks to Slade, it wasn't even fun to steal anymore, although he wasn't truly complaining; xinothium was hard to steal when you didn't have the belt to use it anyway.

Thinking about the belt, he relished the idea of getting it back. Then, maybe he could settle his old scores once and for all...

His thoughts distracted him and made him sloppy, and his charge didn't even get half a block away from the starting point before he stopped. "I know you're there. What I want to know is why?"

Wow. Bird Boy was more perceptive than he thought. Of course, Red knew exactly what Robin was capable of: they went at it once or twice when he needed some xinothium to power the suit, but this time was different. Five months had passed since the Boy Wonder had fallen under Slade's tutelage, and there was no telling what he had picked up along the way. This was a different Robin, a more dangerous Robin, one that was unpredictable, and most likely savage and vicious as a rabid dog. He'd have to be careful, choosing his words and actions carefully. Anything could and would be held against him, and he couldn't slip up; the Titans were alive, and if Slade knew that, call the ballgame. The only element on his side right now was surprise...

He'd have to be careful.

Not only that, but he was out of toys to use. No xinothium meant half the gadgets in the X suit were now inoperable, and that made for a slightly cranky Red X.

Staying in the shadows, he called out to his target and smiled. "Wow kid, you're really turning out fine under Slade's rule. Tell me, does that come for free, or was there a price to pay?"

Robin didn't even turn around, but X could tell he was smiling cruelly. "There is no price when a father trains his son. It's a gift." Suddenly, he whipped around faster than the thief could see, and prepared to attack. He got one right cross in before he stumbled back, surprised. Flashes of pain crossed his face as a hand immediately went to his forehead, pressing hard against a scar at his right temple. "Who are you?" he cried, confusion crossing his face.

Well, this was a sight. "If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?" He paused then laughed, the situation uncanny."Wow, that's déjà vu for you. I could've sworn I said the same thing to you the last time we met."

"We never met. I've never seen you before in my life."

"Now that's just crazy. How could you have never seen me before when you were the one who created me in the first place?"

Robin stood there, dumbfounded, as another blast of pain made him cry aloud, and he squeezed his eyes tight. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hey kid, you don't look so good. Slade's really messed you up, hasn't he?" He stood there, watching for a moment before he started forward slowly, psychoanalyzing him. "Listen, you're not you. Trust me. I would know. You think you'd call your biggest enemy 'Daddy' in front of all of your-"

"HE **IS** MY FATHER!" screamed Robin, knocking X back with a snap kick to the chest. "Don't you dare patronize my-"

"He's not your father, Robin," shot back the thief, trying to get some sense into him. "Your father would never terrorize people. You know how I'd know that? Because I know Slade. I got jinxed on a bad end of a deal because of him, and he royally screwed up everything. He never had a son; otherwise, I'd know that too. You sure you're all fine and dandy? Because I say you're not."

The former Boy Wonder glared at him with hatred, blocked the pain and went into overdrive, his fury enhancing his already top notch fighting skills. "I'll kill you where you stand for ever criticize my father again!" Snarling, he attacked with a blazing display of karate chops and kicks with the intent to kill.

X was barely able to defend himself the first go around, taken by surprise at the ferocity Robin displayed. This wasn't going to be easy, especially if the guy he was fighting wanted to cut his head off and send it bouncing down the highway like an old rubber tire. Blocking every shot, he couldn't get in an attack edgewise, so he kept talking. "You don't have to do this, Robin. You're not Slade's little wind up toy who he can boss around like he owns you. He doesn't, and if your friends could only see you now-"

"I don't have any friends, and I don't **need** them!" Kick, kick, jab, left jab, uppercut: he was really pouring on the frustration and pain he was feeling. "You're lying! My father loves me, and he'd do anything to protect me from the likes of you!"

Suddenly, his feet were swept out from under him, and X fell flat on his back, staring up at a boot which ruthlessly clamped down on his throat. "Funny," he gasped between ragged breaths. "The only father you ever had was Batman."

The boot crushed his throat tighter. "Slade is my father, not that monster Batman. I'll kill Batman for the pain he's inflicted on my family. I'LL **KILL **HIM, right after I'm done with **YOU**."

"Big talk... for a little boy... Bet you... some xinothium... Slade told you that. He's lying."

"Why would he ever lie to me?"

"To control you. Tell me... does he manhandle you? Put you... through... things? Call them... games?" A moment's worth of hesitation confirmed his questions. "He's playing you... Robin, you have to... have to... break free. Your friends..."

But Robin sighed slightly, and to X's horror, he smiled wickedly, shook his head and laughed. "You know, Father told me about people like you, people who serve the Batman. He told me you were monsters, people out for your own gain, and you tried to kill the empire my father was trying to build. He told me it was better to kill you all than to risk having your evil spread, infecting everything you've ever laid a hand on. Well guess what, Red X? I don't know you from Adam, but it makes no difference. You're going to die."

The irony was uncanny. A few, rasping laughs unnerved the boy, and X practically grinned behind the skull mask. "Hey Rob... guess what? You called me... by name."

"That was a pathetic excuse for your last words..."

"I never told you... never said my name. You knew my name... How'd you know?" Robin went wide eyed, and loosened the pressure on his boot slightly. "One more thing," said X, and his limbs moved blindingly fast, his hands gripped the boot on his throat and shoved it away. "Next time you put your foot down, keep in mind, I'm more durable than I look!"

Taken by surprise, the Boy Wonder was thrown back, stumbling a few steps as he shook his head, trying to get his bearings. X took advantage and sprang to his feet, a well aimed scissor kick to the chest sending Robin sprawling into the side wall of a stairwell. Now it was X who put a boot to the other's throat, his form stretched into a kick position as the roles reversed. "Look, Boy Blunder, I'm not doing this because I'm a nice guy. Like it or not, I'm doing this for you, because let me tell you: you've got a nice girl vouching for you. Obviously, you're worth something." His charge squirmed, and X hissed, tightening his grip. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even bother."

* * *

This guy was good. Very, very good and it made Robin sick to his stomach. Didn't this guy know who he was? Didn't he know what could happen when you tested the son of Slade? Being manhandled was not what he wanted to be today. Temper flaring, he glared with hatred at the skull mask, gasping slightly from minor oxygen deprivation. "I'll kill you, X. You, and whoever else you're with. You won't make it past today alive." 

Sighing, the other managed to loosen the boot just enough to where he could squirm free, but a jolting kick sent his head back, slamming it into the concrete wall with a bump. Stars exploded in his eyes, and suddenly, the world went dark.

* * *

"Should've shut up," mused X, shaking his head back and forth. "Should've just shut up, and saved your breath." But what else could he have done? Obviously, not much else, and he hated being caught in a fight that he knew would waste too much time... 

"Time to check in," he murmured to himself, taking a running leap off the roof. "Bet Starfire's worried sick about her boy toy..."

* * *

Later, he knew exactly where the Titans were, thanks to the information provided, and Red X made sure he wasn't seen before he pulled open the sewer cap and jumped right in. Splashing the waste water, he glanced around, trying to see in the dim light. "You can come on out, kids. I won't hurt anyone." 

A feral growl came from his left, and he had barely enough time to vault to the left before a green rhinoceros barreled past the place he was standing. A blast of blue energy caught him in the face, while starbolts the color of Mountain Dew knocked him off his feet. Instantly, he could feel black energy pinning his arms in place at his sides, and he knew he was in trouble.

The Titans glared at him, sauntering out of the shadows slowly. Obviously not the welcoming committee he was expecting...

Beast Boy loped up next to him and reached for his mask. "Let's see who you really are," he growled.

"Hey, Bird Boy didn't let you unmask him," he replied, and focused his glove on the changeling, "so don't expect me to either!"

A gummy red "X" squirted out of his palm and engulfed Beast Boy, yelping along the way. "HEY! Dude, that was so uncool! I didn't need another month of bad hair days!"

At least he was away from the mask...

"What exactly are you doing here, X? How'd you find us?" demanded Raven, her voice cool and even.

"A little birdy told me. And speaking of birdies, I've got some news about Slade's. Want to hear, pretty lady?"

Starfire immediately piped up. "What news do you have of Robin? Please tell us!"

X nodded. "Fine, but can we take the voodoo off of me? It's ruining the cape."

Reluctantly, Raven acknowledged, and set him down, drawing her powers back into herself as she stared him down. "Where's Troia? What have you done with her?"

"Why do you automatically expect the worst of me? I haven't done anything wrong. Yet."

"Where is she, funny guy?" asked Cyborg, dead serious.

"Troia's laying low. Apparently, some of Slade's drones caught sight of her, and they're tearing this town apart looking for her. She dove into some old apartment building, but she's stuck. So, she sent me on ahead to do the Boy Scout bit and track down Bird Boy." He could see the doubt in their faces, and he shrugged. "Hey, at least you all are 'dead', and everyone hates sewers. Otherwise, those tin cans would be looking for you too. Not to mention Slade's new pet."

"What news of Robin?" asked Starfire, hanging on his words. "Please tell me what you know about Robin!"

"I think I better let Troia handle some of that," said X, and pulled out a communications device from inside his glove.

When he pressed play, the image of Troia's face appeared on the small screen, and she looked deeply worried. "Hey guys. Sorry I couldn't meet up with you, but Slade's henchmen are searching everywhere for me, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen another interesting character in a mask..." Frowning, she paused, then continued. "I see you've met X. Yeah, I know, he's bad news-"

"Hey," yelped X, surprised. "you ain't entirely Miss Goody-Two-Shoes either!"

"-but he's on our side this go around. He owes me, and I'm cashing in on it. Consider him your eyes and ears on the street, since I can't be at the moment. Nobody's looking for him, so he can come and go as he pleases. I'm sure he already has." Her eyes narrowed, addressing X only this time. "But if you don't stick to the game plan X, it'll gives me an excuse to kick your butt."

"Ouch," gloated Beast Boy, folding his arms across his stomach. "Sounds like she's got you whipped."

"You would be too if you owed an Amazon a favor. You try acting tough when she's pissed off enough to put you through a wall."

The recording continued. "Anyway, I'll try and contact you guys ASAP, as soon as I can move about again." Before she could say more though, a loud crashing was heard, and she quickly glanced to the left. "X'll fill you in on everything. Gotta go! Troia out!" The screen went blank.

* * *

Raven sighed, irritated. She hated being left in the dark and relying on the distrustful for answers. "So what do you have, X? Is there anything we can use?" 

He nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Ol' One-Eye's really gotten tohim, and he'smessed him up bad enough to where the guy's got no concept of life without Slade. Somehow,Robin thinks he's Slade's son, and he has no friends."

"What?" Cyborg's human eye went wide. "What do you mean, he thinks he has no friends? And he's Slade's son? What the-"

"Surprised me too, but it's easily answered if you think about it." Harsh laughter erupted from his lips. "Robin's head has been screwed with. Slade's completely brainwashed him into the situation."

"But why would Robin allow Slade to so thoroughly deceive him? Robin is strong, stronger than any of us! Why would he allow Slade to do a washing of his brain? How could he take it out of Robin's head?"

X groaned, cringing at her elaborated English. "Starfire, brainwashing isn't literal. It means that something's been done, physically or chemically,to Robin to where he can't remember his life as a Titan."

"That lowdown, good for nothing-" fumed Beast Boy, green eyes blazing with fire. "He'll pay for what he's done!"

"Cool it, Zoo Boy," quipped the thief. "Save it for Slade."

"Why are you helping us, X?" interrupted Raven, staring at him intently. "Why you of all people? Why didn't Troia call another of her friends?"

"You don't really know her, do you?" His usually jovial nature turned deadly serious. "Good. You shouldn't. Just trust her; she knows Slade. A bit too much, actually."

"Why? What does she have to hide?"

"I can't tell you that. Ask her."

"I'm asking you."

"You'll wish you didn't."

Raven insisted. "What does she have to hide?"

He sighed,and hunched his shoulders."Plenty. There's a lot of stuff that's happened to her, and none of it's pretty."

"Out with it," snarled Beast Boy, impatient. "What's up with Troia? Just tell us already!"

"You'd be surprised, Beast Boy. See, she's somewhat... cursed. Thanks to a witch named Dark Angel, Troia's a walking corpse waiting to happen. As soon as life gets good for her, DA swoops in, taunts her, mocks her, then kills her just like that." He snapped his fingers, and let a bit of anger creep into his mechanical voice. "She's a monster in the ninth level of hell. Trust me, I've seen her, met her, been tortured by her... Bad. Very bad; so much so, you're sick to your stomach just by seeing her."

Starfire gasped. "Friend Troia has been murdered? Then why does she-"

"Walk around like the living? Because for the moment, she is alive.Troia's been around the block a couple timesfor God knows how many lifetimes. And every time life starts topeak, Angel finds her, hunts her down, and plays cat and mouse until she's tired of it andkillsher prey."

"So how do you know her?" asked Raven softly, her voice sympathetic.

"The usual: I save her life, she saves mine... I save hers again, and she saves mine twice..."

"So what's her deal with Slade?" asked Cyborg innocently. "I know something's going on. I did a biomatrix analysis on her to see if she was one of Slade's drones and her heart sped up a few beats when she was talking about him. She's good at lying, but not good enough. Something went down between them."

X, annoyed, stared at him. "She's not going to like that, Scooter. When she finds that out, she'll be pissed."

"Well, I had to. Tell me, what's her deal with Slade?"

"Long story short, Slade sold her out to Dark Angel because he'd made a deal with her and then he... did something... to her when she was reborn. I can't remember what; she never told me. But it was really bad."

Starfire's eyes started tearing up. "Slade is a bad, bad man! Why would he hurt poor Friend Troia?"

"Apparently, he had something to gain for it, and it's going to get worse."

"Why do you say that?" asked Beast Boy.

"Why else do you think he's turning the city upside down trying to find her? He wants Troia, and he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants."


	4. 4: A Brutal Shade of Slade

**Insanity for Dummies**- You're welcome for replying back! I love talking to you guys, and I really appreciate the feedback that you give me! Yeah, Slade is evil; oh heck yeah. He's insane, but in a way, it's sort of... sad. You feel like he's evil because that's the only way he knows how to be, and it's a lonely state to be in. Yeah, I thought the serum thing was a stroke of genius, especially since Robin takes it without thinking what exactly is in it. He just says, "Oh, it's an adrenaline shot" and takes it in the arm without as much as a second thought. That just reveals how badly he's in the dark about this entire thing. And don't worry about Simms: he'll get his backbone pretty soon here, after a few chapters... Thanks for the note!

**Rose Eclipse (on chapter 2)-** Yep, I always wanted Wonder Girl in here, and when I first saw the series, I thought it was a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong: I love TT. But I think it could've been better if WG was in there. After all, she helped FOUND the team itself (in the comic books), so why not? And I try so hard not to make her a Mary Sue, but I've got good guidelines, thanks to the comic books. The DC pop culture references were mainly to say, "Hey, she knows her way around. She's not the new girl, she's not the stand in for Terra. This girl really knows what it's like in Gotham, in Star City, and she knows what she can do to help." It was a way of tying her in with the rest of the Titans, without any problems. She knows Speedy (aka Roy) because she's been to Star City. She knows the Green Arrow because she knows Oliver Queen, and knows he is the GA. She's obviously familiar with the Titans, familiar with Red X and he owes her favors, and she even knows Slade, and had some sort of experience dealing with him/being around him, so Troia's been around the block once or twice. Like she said in chapter 2, "I've had experience. Lots of experience." And yes, Robin is brainwashed, and thank you about the green with envy comment! LOL! I could spend the rest of my days writing fics for this series, because I've been given so many great ideas for it... Most of it's spur of the moment thing, where an idea pops into my head, and then I just think of it. Like for example, I wanted to end SIS with Robin falling to Slade. That's where I wanted to end up, but I knew that even broken, bleeding, hopeless Robin would never fully submit to him. So, I had to think of a way to get him to follow Slade's every command without question, and repress his normally heroic character. The only thing I could think of which could break Robin, truly, was if he somehow didn't remember who his friends were. Ergo, the brainwashing tactic. Plus, I thought it seemed fitting to see Robin/DG go through the same thing that Robin/TD would go through in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. So sue me, I'm a hopeless case for repetitive, vindicated, valid actions...

**(on chapter 3)-** LOL, an overactive imagination and time to think, that's how. To be perfectly honest, I have absolutely no idea how I do any of it: I just sit, let my mind wander, and come up with something. Then, I take that idea, and start asking myself questions, like for Troia: I wanted to introduce a new character without straying from the DC Comics line, and she was my natural choice. After I knew exactly who I wanted, I started thinking of why she came to Jump City; what backstory can I use/build to explain the things that she does? Do I want her to be an enemy of Slade from the beginning, and how can that help out the plot? After asking myself all these things with random things off the top of my head, I saw that this stuff could work, and half my plotline was already built! Also, I added another variable to make things doubly interesting. I always wanted to do something with Red X, and in SIS, I considered using him, but then that would take away part of the story. He'd be a distraction at best, and I didn't want that, so I saved him for the sequel that I knew was coming. Then, I thought of this absolutely awesome idea (which, I can't tell you, because that's the finale of the fic!) which pretty much guaranteed X's appearance in this fic, and I was ecstatic. It also builds the blocks for the friendship of Troia and Robin when all is said and done, like in the comic books, so I'm thrilled with the opportunity to dabble in the fun stuff! Then, to add more dimension to this, I gave Red X and Troia a reason to be where they are: It's because of Slade, something that everything comes circling back to throughout this story and its predecessor. See how things (from what you know) tie into each other so nicely? And thank you: I thought she'd be the right ally too! Thanks for the reviews, girlie! Really appreciate it!

**KaliAnn-** Yup, Robin's gone off the deep end, but those glimpses where he's holding his head in pain... those are the points where his memories are trying to come back to him. It's painful because of all the interaction between the drugs and shock therapies, but they're there. Yeah X is helping out and pulling some weight, but then again, he's always got an ulterior motive... And Troia's cursed, definitely. That's something that I pulled from the comic books, if you can believe it. If you can imagine it, she's actually a clone of Wonder Woman when Diana was a kid. When they were just about teens, Troia (or Donna, because that's her real name) was mistaken for her "twin", and Dark Angel cursed her, thinking she was Diana, the real person Angel wanted to hurt. Troia really is cursed to live a different life for awhile, then have tragedy strike when she least expected it. After breaking her spirit, Dark Angel would find her, play a game of cat and mouse, grow bored, then kill her. However, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and Troia's been through that dozens of times, so she's pretty darn strong when it comes to heart. She'd fight to the death and then give 200 more! It's what makes her such a great character to play with! And sure, I'll read it! Don't worry! Thanks for the review!

**Infamous One-** Well, you're the first one I've ever seen to call him that! And I liked it so much, I had to use it! And ah, see, I'm not that big on the Slade's back story; the only things I know about his life are that he was once married, had at least two kids, and those kids were named Jericho and Rose (who became the Ravager, I believe). Oh, and Jericho had the power to possess anyone's body, including his father's which, I think, is what he did to try and bring him 'under control'. Or something like that. I could be wrong... Oh yeah, and his codename so to speak is Deathstroke. And hey, that could be it: Wintergreen dies, and a guy gets lonely for company. I don't know... I agree, Slade does follow that motto. That and "This is my power. Now, what're you going to do about it?" LOL! And... well... X isn't COMPLETELY on the side of angels... it's just beneficial for him to side against Slade for the moment. To put it bluntly, Red X has always looked out for Number 1: Red X. However, he's not one to turn tail and run, especially when he owes it to someone, and their lives are riding on his participation. In a way, he reminds me of Selena Kyle/Catwoman: Red X is a thief, but he's an honorable one; he'll keep his word over breaking it, and he really does have a heart of gold. Thanks for the review!

**maroonedpirate11-** Well I was wondering where you went off to, Maroon! I update and finish Sinking Into Slade and I don't have the opportunity to thank one of my biggest supporters? I just about died lol! Thank you! I love Red X for various reasons, mostly because he's a complete wild card. Can go left or right, up or down, it just depends on the situation. Thanks for the note!

**Aeris-Raven (on chapter 2)-** Yeah, I barely ever see things in black and white anymore. Due to some personal tragedy in my life, and the realization that life sometimes just generally sucks, I can see a motive and a reason behind a person's actions, and cartoon characters are the same way. Good characters do nasty things to others to accomplish the goal of the greater good, while evil ones can do a few good things and still get blamed for the wrongdoings of others. It's insane, it's chaotic and it doesn't make sense, but that's the world for you. It's just the way things are.

**(on chapter 3)-** Yeah, Troia's a unique character, and it's fitting to have a unique name to go with her. I can't take credit for creating her: that's DC Comics' liberty, not mine. And I agree, if Robin was going to remember someone, an enemy close to his heart, WHO ISN'T SLADE, Xcould surely jog a few memories. After all, Robin** WAS** Red X for a bit, so he'd have to remember something... I don't think Slade likes ruining people's lives; for him, it's all about a controlled companionship. He's a control freak, someone who doesn't like surprises, and I don't think he takes any sort of fun in ruining people's lives. If anything, he hates the fact that he loses those people, especially ones of value to him, so... I guess it depends on what your definition of "ruining people's lives".

**WOW**, 3 pages of notes today! That's incredible! _**WHOA**_! Most I've ever had for just solid review replies!

Anyway, we're almost to the top of the hill. We're at **Chapter 4,** and things are starting to lead to the ultimate confrontation I have planned: **Titans and Red X** vs. **Slade and Robin**. The cogs are in motion now, and we're in the home stretch, so hang onto your hats, keep your hands, feet and other objects right in your vicinity, and get ready for the last stretch of **A HERO'S REDEMPTION**!

* * *

Moaning, he stumbled back into his father's lair, and reeling from the blow to his head, Robin steadied himself against the wall while applying pressure to his wound with the other. He didn't know exactly how he had gotten there, or why, completely lost in thought and confusion. Red X, Red X: why did he know him? How did he know him? Why was that name so familiar to him? Things weren't making the least bit of sense, and it sent his mind spinning in circles. 

Things just weren't making sense.

"Robin."

He bristled, surprised his father had heard him come in, but he tried to stand up straight and look as best as he could. Even beaten, he wanted to look presentable.

Slade, however, couldn't give a damn. "Robin, why are you back so soon? And do I see blood staining my floor?"

He hadn't even noticed. His hand coming forth in front of him, he stared blankly at the ruby red hue across it. "I'm bleeding?"

"Yes, you're bleeding. My question is why?"

A thought struck him, and for the moment, it didn't make sense. Why would he want to hide his confrontation with X a secret? Why not tell his father? It's not like he had something to hide... It was a harmless fight! But why was he getting the feeling that sharing that detail was the worst thing he could do? Shaking his head, he tried to focus, and moaned again, his feet giving out on him.Then,he collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

Slade moved quickly andcaught the boy with one arm, stopping his fall. "Robin, are you alright?" Obviously not. What had happened during his routine surveillance? Suddenly, he felt his anger seething. Something was trying to sabotage everything he'd worked for, and it seemed too much of a coincidence that Robin had been attacked the same day his drones reported a girl in red disappear down the sewer drain. Someone was trying to steal his apprentice away from him, and he didn't like it one bit. 

Someone wanted Robin to come back to them.

"Titans," he hissed, turning the Boy Wonder around in his arms and picking him up. How'd they survive? Everything he had done was perfect, **PERFECT**! For months, he had planned for this day! The Titans were supposed to be dead, **DEAD**, and now, his newly "born" son was bleeding, damaged, on the same night Troia was seen in the city.

All his henchmen had said was that it was a black-haired girl in red, but his instinct told him it was her. She'd hang for this. Even if she wasn't involved, which he doubted, she'd hang for this. For many, many lifetimes to come.

Cradling Robin in his arms, he strode towards the medical bay, lost in thought. "Simms has some explaining to do."

* * *

Packing a few things away, Doctor Stanley Simms was shaking with fright, hoping to God that he was done. Oh God, it was a nightmare: waking everyday, preparing that serum to brainwash that kid... watching him shock himself until his memories faded like snow on a warm winter day... It was too much. Way too much, and he was sick of it. What Slade was doing was brutal, ruthless, and sick, twisted upon itself until it resembled a pretzel-like horror that never stopped or ended. Stanley was a biochemist, a scientist, pulled into this terrible fight for control unwillingly, involved in a plot that was pure evil while he cried like a child to be set free. He hated Slade, hated him with every fiber of his being, but he couldn't leave, and he couldn't stop. He was trapped, and Slade made sure he stayed that way. 

It was getting to be too much. Now, it was to the point where he wasn't needed anymore, and he had no problem with the idea of Slade killing him off for sheer pleasure. He wanted his life, a life with his wife and their son, wanted it so desperately that now, he just wanted out. He was just going to leave, no explanation, no good-byes. The less Slade knew, the better.

However, fate was a cruel, twisted son of a bitch. An iron vise of a grip seized his throat and left only millimeters in his wind pipe to breathe out of. Gasping, his eyes went wide as he trembled like a rabbit caught in a deadly, harsh trap. He could feel the terror that was Slade, feel his hatred and his burning wrath from behind the mask and uniform as the madman slammed him painfully against the wall, his one, revealed eye glowing red with loathing. "I come in here to have you help my son, and what do I see you do? Packing, like a convicted convict leaving the state. Where are you going, Simms? And who are you running from?"

"Y-y-y-you," he stammered, gasping out his answer as Slade gripped tighter. "I'm... running... from you..."

"Do you think you could run out on me so easily? I'm a patient man, Simms, not stupid. I would know if you left my service without saying good-bye."

"Slade, just let me go... you don't need me anymore, and I-"

"I want to know what you did," hissed the masked man, slamming the back of Simms' head into the wall. "Tell me, what did you do?"

For the moment, he didn't know what he was talking about. "What did... what did I..."

"You know exactly who I am talking about. The Titans, Simms."

He refused to acknowledge both his surprise and the answer, for once not giving Slade the benefit of the doubt. "I don't know what you're-"

"You **KNOW**, Simms! What did you do?" Another slam.

The room was starting to fade to black, and he sobbed out, tears running down his cheeks. "I don't-"

Slam. "You did something to the Titans, didn't you? You didn't kill them like you were supposed to."

"Screw you."

Slam. "I'm losing my patience Simms. Tell me. **NOW**."

"What if... I did?" Choking laughter erupted from his lips, a crazy, maniacal giggling that rivaled the Joker. "You can't... can't stop them... They'll kill you."

"We'll see about that. In the mean time, not a word to Robin, do you hear me? If you so much as breathe the word 'Titans', I'll kill you, and your wife. Who knows? Your son could most likely use a few lessons in pain and-"

That did it. "Leave him... out of this!" gasped Simms, struggling against the more powerful Slade. "Leave Charlie... out of this...!"

Slam again. And he sank into the abyss, unconscious.

* * *

From the other side of the room, Robin opened bleary eyes and softly groaned, holding his head in his hand while trying to get his bearings. A sharp thudding sound came from his right, and, curious, he glanced towards it with astonished eyes. Simms, the family doctor, was whimpering, crying as his father's massive hand around the poor man's throat. Fascinated, he lay there, spellbound, watching a final slam to the back of the head before the doctor slid to the ground, leaving a bloody trail along the wall. 

"A pity," he heard his father say, "that he doesn't reply. He only knows it will make it that much easier to kill him after all is said and done. It doesn't matter now; they won't stop me. I'll just have to question him later about the Titans, and Troia. For now, I'll have to resort to... Plan B."

The Boy Wonder watched as Slade slowly turned, and he quickly closed his eyes, horrified. What had Simms done to deserve a beating like that? What was wrong with Slade? He had never seen his father be that ruthless, that angry! Could Red X have been right? Was his father truly-

Shaking off that thought, he pretended to wake up a second time, repeating his groaning as Slade passed by. No, he wouldn't question his father, not like this... it wasn't the time for that, or for his attack...

Pleased, Robin could sense the madman smiling under his mask. "Ah, I see you're awake. Please excuse Simms for the moment he-" he glanced at the doctor and shrugged, "-has chosen this moment to rest. Perhaps I'll have to stitch up the back of your head myself. Sit up."

He obeyed, and, dizzily, tried to be casual. "I'm sorry Father, for not completing the objective. I should've-"

"No need. You were injured, and coming back here was the right thing to do." Reaching for a case of medical supplies, he opened it, found what he was looking for, and then closed it again, a very fine needle and thread held precariously in one hand. "Turn around."

Rotating, he continued his apology. "I didn't finish my task though, Father. You told me to conduct a perimeter check, and I only made it half way through. I should've continued, injured or not."

A stabbing pain made Robin grimace as Slade began the duty of sewing his head shut. "I would rather have you come back here badly injured and failing at my command than to risk losing you and having you fulfill it. You're my son, my Little Bird. Call it fatherly instinct, but I'd rather have you safe and sound than dead."

Usually, the words were comforting, but after that display of brutality he displayed with Simms... Robin nodded though, masking his real feelings of unease. "I understand."

When he finished, Slade placed the needle and thread on the medical tray close to Robin's bed, and checked a clock on the wall. "After that fight, I'm sure you're tired."

He really was, but he tried not to show it. "I'm fine, Father. I could still go a few rounds..."

"Yes, I'm sure you can," came the reply, as the villain drew a syringe from off the tray. "But I want to make sure you're up for those rounds. Here." Tossing it to Robin with the plastic protection cap still on, Slade began his trek out, and called over his shoulder. "Take it. Regain your strength, and I'll be back in a little while to see how you're doing. I have to take care of some... business."

As soon as he left, Robin stared down at the hypodermic in his lap and drew it up, seeing it with new eyes. Something in the back of his mind was driving him to be suspicious, and for once, he listened. Something was wrong here, very, very wrong, but he couldn't figure it out; his mind was still too hazy and confused, thanks to the flashes of a time he couldn't remember. He watched bubbles sift in the red liquid, up and down, up and down, and contemplated.

* * *

"Whoa, no way! Slade's looking for Troia? Why?" asked Beast Boy, staring at Red X like he was from the moon. "Why would he be looking for her?" 

"Who wouldn't be? After all, she's got super strength, can fly..." began Raven.

X finished for her. "She's super fast, has got great endurance, and she's damned durable. Can weather a tornado and only come out with her hair ruffled. Now can we get back on topic please? We need to figure out what's up with Bird Boy and his Daddy."

"Agreed," replied Starfire, the longing in her eyes intensifying. "We need to find the source of Friend Robin's current condition. Perhaps we may go above ground and investigate-"

A sudden rumbling sound perked Red X's ears, and he stopped, holding a hand up to halt her speech. "Wait, did you hear that?"

They all stopped and stared at him, but then, they heard it too: a whooshing, roaring sound that grew louder and louder as the moment stretched. Rocks on the dry walks around them clattered, and a sinking feeling in his stomach made X yelp in fear. Oh no, he couldn't... could he? "**MOVE IT**!" he screamed, and no one questioned the order as they all either ran or flew, and a wall of water came barreling down on top of them with a crash; the floodgates of hell seemed to have given way, as millions of gallons picked up speed and wound its way down the corridor as they tried to outrun it, the foamy spray spinning in circles down the tunnels. "Slade knows we're here! He's flooding the sewers!"


	5. 5: Dire Straits

**Insanity for Dummies**- LOL, yes he is, but you can't blame him: everything he's worked for is slowly coming apart at the seams! That doesn't condone for slamming Simms up against the wall though... And now, Robin's got a choice of whether or not to take it, and I'm going to leave that open ended for now... You'll know the answer later on. And yes, Slade truly does care for our Boy Wonder, in some weird sort of way. He loves him like a mother loves the child she never had (i.e. the neighbor boy who comes over for cookies or something). Slade wants what he truly cannot have, and he'd do anything to get it, keep it, and keep it under control. Yes, Robin is completely screwed up, but he's starting to realize that his "happy little apprentice life" isn't exactly what it seems. And already, some bits of memory are coming back to him, but they're too fleeting and too few at this moment (he keeps thinking they're meaningless dreams). I really do appreciate your feedback, too. You guys are as much of an inspiration on me as the TV show is. Thanks for the review!

**KaliAnn**- One thing that Slade would never do is deliberately kill Robin. He's worth too much to Ol' One-Eye! Slade's sentimental towards Robin, regards him as the son he never had, so of course he wouldn't deliberately kill him... and it would depend on the situation whether or not Slade would hurt him, so it all just depends... Yeah, the Titans have been discovered, and now, the fun begins... Thanks for the review!

**Aeris-Raven**- Yeah, Slade's a smart cookie. If the Titans are hiding in the sewers, what can you do to flush them out?And you'll know what Simms did in another chapter.Robin's going to have issues, that's for sure: when he gets back to the Titans, he's going to have issues, and he's going to want to be alone, and sort through everything in his head. Hopefully, confiding in his friends will be exactly what he needs. Thanks for the review!

**slade4president**- Thank you! The best compliment I could ever receive is that I got the Titans and Slade down exactly right! And don't worry: the next installment's coming right at your right now! Thanks for the review!

**Infamous One**- Actually, I didn't know that! Thanks for the info! It's interesting what you learn everyday... Yeah, that is pretty cool. He's a mastermind, what can I say? He's got motive, opportunity, and power. What more can our favorite little megalomaniac ask for? Thanks for reviewing!

Ok guys, we've made it: **chapter 5**. It means **½ **this fic is already over! (OMG!) I'm surprised as you are that I could stretch this so far, and still come up with something good. I've got my direction set, and now, all I have to do is follow it. Oh, and BTW: I refuse to call Robin/DG by the name of "Dick". Thanks to our modern culture, it completely screws with it, and it's derogatory. So, I shall call him by his full first name: Richard. So sit back, enjoy the ride, and I'll see you next chapter! Read on!

* * *

A tsunami wave was coming straight at them, gushing water filling the entire space and leaving nothing behind, sweeping it along with the rest of the refuge it picked up. Wide eyed, X watched it for a moment before he started running, Cyborg running beside him and the girls flying over their heads. Beast Boy morphed into a bird of prey, and it didn't take long for X to notice that he wasn't comfortable flying in such an enclosed space; these sewer tunnels weren't as big as many people thought they were.

"Starfire, grab Cyborg! Raven, pick me up! Beast Boy, scout ahead! Find a drain somewhere and lead us to it!"

"Dude, who died and made you king of the world?" shot back Beast Boy. "I'm trying to fly here!"

"Just do it!"

Surprisingly, they all did, all too eager to follow orders from a voice close to Robin's, and X immediately felt his feet disengage from the floor. Then, suddenly, he was flying, the slim hands of Raven grasping his shoulders as best she could. She briefly regarded him, although he couldn't make out her expression, something between puzzlement and-

Something close to a flash of recognition crossed her face, and he shook his head firmly. "Fly Raven. Just fly." And she didn't have time to argue; her uncertainty had faltered her flying, and the wave of water had crept up on them. The witch redoubled her efforts, and they continued on their way without another word.

It made X that much more adamant to settle his old scores. One of these days, Slade was going to pay for all this...

* * *

Exhausted, Robin was dead asleep by the time Slade came in to check on him, and the master was secretly pleased when he viewed the empty syringe. Good boy, Robin, he thought, smiling behind his mask. Good boy. You're becoming exactly like the son I always wanted, and who you always were meant to be. The serum this time was a double dose, with no adrenaline additives, and he had expected Robin to sleep; of course, the boy didn't know that. No, he was continually kept in the dark, and sooner than later, the toxins flowing threw him would do their work. He'd lose his memories, all of them but the ones he'd given him, and that would be a true day to celebrate.

"Soon, Robin, soon," he murmured affectionately, already allowing himself the time imagine the new life they would lead, rulers of a world subjugated to their control. Yes. Soon, Robin would be truly his, and he would give his son the world.

It's the least he could do, after all the times he had come close to killing him along the way.

* * *

The Boy Wonder was within a fit of dreams, sweating and trembling silently on the medical bed. The dreams had come back, with a fury and a vengeance, and this time, the experience was different than before.

This time, the pieces of his puzzled mind began to fit back together. Or, at least, some of them had.

Dark. It was dark, damp, and wet, stalagmites clinging to the ground while their partners created rocky peaks along the roof. He knew this place, knew it quite well, but couldn't remember its location. Strangely enough, it felt like home, a home he knew he was always welcomed in, and one he hadn't seen in a very long time. On platforms here and there, connected by various ramps and walkways, computers blipped and beeped, while a series of glass cases lined one solid wall, suits of rubber and spandex, of capes and cowls, residing within them. There it was, the gray and black suit that he'd seen on the man he saw before in his dreams, the emblem of the only flying mammal gracing the front.

A bat. A giant bat. That's what it was across the front! A bat! But why?

Images flashed in his brain as he felt himself walk towards the displays, his bare fingers caressing the glass softly. He noticed that this suit had seemed better days, parts where holes had repeatedly been scratched and slashed in, with the tiniest of stitches binding it up like they were never there. A man came into mind just then as he glared at the threadbare cloth, a man of nobility and dignity that surpassed even that of Slade. A former spy. British, however, unlike any British man Robin had ever met; this man was one who cared for his charges, who dutifully waited for the Bat to come home every night, whether he was in one piece or not. He was a battle worn man, a respectful man. A man who loved him like a grandfather would love a grandchild.

But why couldn't Robin remember his name?

"Master Richard?" a voice was calling from behind him, and there he was, an exact replica of the man he was thinking of in all his glory. White hair graced his head, and Coke bottle glasses enlarged his eyes slightly as he peered through them. His uniform was pressed and ironed, not a thread out of place, and a bowtie the color of cranberries stood out strikingly from his starched white shirt and coat tailed jacket and matching black slacks. He'd called him Richard. Richard? Was that his name? He didn't even remember if it was.

Faltering with his speech, it took him a moment to realize that he wasn't wearing his usual uniform; he was dressed in an unfamiliar one of green gloves and a black and yellow cape, an "R" emblazoned on his chest. His hands felt upwards over his face, and he was surprised to find he wasn't wearing a mask. Where was his mask? Where did it go? This man shouldn't see him without his-

"Master Richard? Are you alright, sir?"

"I-I don't know," he admitted, clamping a hand to his forehead and trying to quell a forming headache. "My head's all scrambled... I can't think..."

"Maybe you will once you've sat down. Would you like me to get you an aspirin?" He gestured towards the huge chair in front of a huge computer screen, and winked. "I don't think it would be a bad idea if you sat in Batman's chair for the time being. Which reminds me, why are you dressed as Robin? I thought you were done with the life of a crime fighter."

He shook his head hopelessly, the pain increasing with every moment. "No, but thanks for offering. About the aspirin, I mean." Making his way towards the chair, he felt himself sit, easing back into the cushions and groaning with content. "This feels nice."

"Master Richard, may I ask you something?"

"What?" By now, he was getting used to this "master" stuff, even though he didn't know this guy's name. True, he felt more than comfortable talking to him, but still...

"You've been acting so strangely lately. If I may, what has prompted you to put on the suit again?"

Throbbing pains racked his mind, and Robin could barely concentrate. "Listen, I'm going to be straight with you, ok? Then maybe, you can tell me what's wrong with me." Sighing, frustrated, he amended. "I don't really know why I'm acting weird either. I don't know how I'm supposed to act, period. Things are so screwed up in my head, and I have no idea why. At first I was sure, you know? It was me and my father, and everything was fine and dandy, but then these things started happening. Flashes; memories I'm not sure are real or not. It's like, one moment, I'm the son of Slade, and then the next minute I'm... this." Pointing down at his uniform, he shook his head. "I don't know who I am anymore. And then, here I am, talking to you, and I don't even know who you are, Alfred."

Wait. Did he just say? Blue eyes widened. "ALFRED! You're Alfred!"

The man nodded, pleased. "If I may say so, Master Richard, I think it would be best if you take the time to sort out what is real and what is not. Only then will you be able to find a way to overcome the lies and deceit. You'll find a way, Master Richard, I know you will."

Suddenly, the room around him became grainy, unfocused, like a fogged up mirror, and Alfred vanished, leaving Robin alone in his big chair. "Hey, wait! Please wait! I still don't know... I still don't know..." He sobbed out, confusion in his voice. "I don't know what I'm doing here..."

He jolted awake with a start and wiped the sweat from his face with a black gloved hand. He was back, awake, and still as lost as ever. However, a flicker of triumph passed across his face. Alfred. Alfred. He had remembered a name. And he was Richard. Richard... Richard...

Still, his brain was wrapped in fog, unable to be completely dislodged. Most of his own life eluded him, but he was now sure of one thing: Slade had lied to him. He had lied to him, but whether it was for his own good or not, he didn't know. That part of his mind was still in the dark. One thing was for certain though: his father couldn't be trusted, not fully anyway. For safety's sake, he's play along, but he had a nasty feeling that whatever has been going on with him, his so-called "father" was behind it. Why, he didn't know, but he intended to find out.

For once, he was glad of his instincts. They told him to flush the syringe's medication down the toilet, and now, they were telling him, more than ever, to be suspicious. Maybe, he just might get to the bottom of this alive if he kept listening to them.

* * *

Water was flooding everywhere, and the tunnels were becoming a dizzying mess of a maze. X couldn't tell how many turns they'd passed, or however many twists they'd made, just focused more and more on staying alive, and making it through the day. In a way, it was his fault for getting the Titans involved in this little blood feud between him and Slade. He'd led Slade right to them, and, defenseless, they were going to drown like rats in a bathtub unless somehow, he could think of a way to get out.

Following Beast Boy's route, Raven flew on, engaging in conversation to pass the time. With the roaring water, sound was limited to within a few feet, far enough for private conversation. "How long have you-"

"Awhile," he answered, cutting her off. "I've been at this for awhile."

"Why? You could live your life without the mask, and nobody would say anything. Why hide behind it?"

He shrugged as best he could, feeling a mix of anxiety and uneasiness. "When you live my life, Raven, you can ask all the questions in the world. Next time you want to be somebody else than who you are, come talk to me."

She shook her head, and sighed, clearly frustrated. "I don't know whether I should be angry, frustrated, or disgusted at you."

"You're most likely all three, and I can't blame you."

"Do you realize the trouble you've caused us? Do you know how stupid your vendetta-"

"You don't get it, Raven. I didn't become Red X to steal. I did it because I could be someone else. I snatched the suit so I don't have to be me all the time."

"That still doesn't-"

"Hey, Robin did it too. Just following his example."

She pursed her lips in annoyance, and countered him. "Yeah, but he did it to catch Slade, and you're doing it because-"

"The 'because' is none of your business, Rae. But now the question is, since you know who I really am, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to blow my cover? Use your powers to pulverize me into a billion bits? Float around and huff?"

"You forget, I can drop you here and now, and solve all your problems for you."

"And you forget, I have other ways of transportation."

Sighing, Raven's fingers dug into the suit, and she flew faster, a stoic look upon her face, but still furious. "I won't tell the others about you, but I want to know why you're after Slade. What does he have on you? Why are you here?"

X grinned behind the skull on his mask, and simply said, "The name of the game is murder, Raven. I don't just want to take Slade down: I want to kill him."

* * *

Beast Boy's eyes were wide as he flew, scoping out every single possible route in efforts to get his friends to safety. They were relying on him to come through this time, to be the hero, and he wouldn't let them down. Starfire, Cyborg, and especially Raven would die if he didn't find a way out...

He didn't care too much about X though. The guy was trouble, through and through; it didn't take a genius to know what kind of trouble they were in because of him. And giving orders, like he was some circus monkey! Who did he think he was? He couldn't just barge into the group, take over, and pretend that Robin never existed! They had done fine without their leader, planning a way to liberate him from Slade's clutches, but who drops in at the worst of times, and seconds later, a flood occurs?

Distrust was far from what the changeling felt for X. Oh, how it was far from it...

He banked his wings left, then right, then left again, trying to figure a way out of this maze. There had to be an escape somewhere...

Wide eyed, he pulled back hard and morphed out, completely shocked and cursing obsessively when his feet touched the concrete floor of the pipe.

It was a way out, alright; except that it was a dead end. Closed, the drainpipe's plated grate was shut tightly, the slats unmoving; he gripped the sides but they were slippery, and his fingers couldn't latch onto them. It would be no use either: it was fused shut, and wouldn't move no matter how much he pulled on it.

Starfire could break it, certainly, but...

Speaking of the redhead, she and Cyborg landed, and she hugged the changeling tightly. "You have found an exit, Friend Beast Boy! Now we shall get out!"

Raven and X landed next, automatically ceasing their engaging conversation, and X nodded to the Tamaranean. "Break it down, Star!"

Furious rumbling echoed down the tunnels, and the rushing water was almost upon them. Within seconds, they would be entirely trapped, unable to escape and without air. It was now or never.

Winding up, the alien's eyes glowed emerald, and a mighty punch sped its way towards the grate, hitting it with a solid crunch. She closed her eyes and grinned, enjoying her victory, but failed to notice one thing.

She had dented the plating, but it hadn't budged.

"Uh, Star... HIT IT AGAIN!" screamed Beast Boy wildly. "OR ELSE WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Surprised, she looked at the plate and hit it again, but to no avail.

Then suddenly, the waters overtook them, sweeping them off their feet into a world of water, with no air. They floated like dolls in a confined sea, and none of them had taken a deep breath. Beast Boy morphed into a shark and, able to breathe, started hammering into the grate, but his efforts failed as well, and he could only watch as his friends held their breath and waited to drown.

In moments, Cyborg passed out, with Star behind him. They were dropping like flies.

* * *

They had to get out, they had to get out! But saving them would expose his secret! Damn Slade for his wrath and contempt! Damn him!

But X knew there wasn't any other choice; he just hoped he had enough air and enough strength to do it. It was now, or never.

Slowly, he swam towards the grate.


	6. 6: Secrets

**Insanity for Dummies**- I actually thought of that, having BB turn into a whale, but the sewer pipelines are too small: he'd be crushed by his own girth if he morphed into a whale. So, he tries to finish Star's work, and that didn't work. And I know, I love Alfred too: he was always Bruce's guide along his journey as Batman, and I thought he'd play the same role for Robin too. And sorry for the shivers, but it as a cool line I thought of, it sounded good, and it was appropriate ;;;; Well, you'll find out in chapter10 how Ravendiscovers who X is. It was sort of an accidental thing, really: she didn't plan on coming across that particular... um, conclusion, but she did. And then she put the pieces together and figured it out. Look back, and see if you can do it too! I left clues here and there... (but don't tell anyone! Don't put it in your review or anything, cuz then people would find it, they'd be spoiled, and then my fiction days are RUINED! AUGH! Ok, not really, but you get my point lmao!) You'll find out exactly WHY X hates Slade also in chapter 8/9. Don't worry, all the bits and pieces will be solved. You just have to wait until I get there to solve them! Thanks for the review!

**KaliAnn**- Yeah, I know what you mean: right now, they don't trust him, don't like him, and absolutely hate the idea of working with him. Now that Raven knows who he is though, there's a slight bit of trust, but no one else has it. And yeah, Robin's trying to get his memories back. It's going to take a really hard knock to the head before he remembers everything though. Thanks for the review!

**Maroonedpirate11**- Hey, I know how that goes, and ouch about the rib. And I'm glad this isn't all the way funny either: I'd hate for you to be in pain! And thanks for supporting me! Don't worry, like I told Insanity for Dummies, you'll find out the identity of Red X in chapter 8. Thanks for reviewing!

**AriesFalcon**- Sorry it ended in a cliffy, but I had to keep you interested somehow. And I'm glad you enjoyed Sinking Into Slade: I had a lot of fun writing that. Maybe it will be RobRae, maybe it won't. I think at this point in time, it won't be, because Robin's got enough on his plate now: he's amnesiac, and he has no idea who Raven is, plus, this thing with Slade... and with Red X again... it's a lot on his mind. The guy needs a rest. And the plot of yours is like mine? Interesting... But I do know you didn't copy my idea, and I'll attest to that if anyone asks you about it, so don't worry. A lot of stories are similar in plot, but it's just how you tell the story that makes all the difference between a real piece of work, and a copy. I know you'll do great, so get that posted! I want to see your spin on the TT universe! And you haven't flamed me yet? Although I don't particularly like flamers, and I think it's rude for people to do that, no matter how bad the story is, I'll take it as a compliment anyway. You have to keep in mind though, what you flame is someone's work, and even if it's the worst piece of stuff you've ever read, it's still someone's work. The least you could do is not flame it, but make suggestions on it, try to point out what people can improve on, or just not say anything at all. I'm not trying to put you down, or insult you or anything; that's not my intention. I think you're nice and all, but... flaming's not nice. (Does that make sense?) I know I probably can't change your mind about it, but I just thought I'd say it anyway. I'm sorry if this insulted you or anything: didn't mean for it to be. I just had to say something. The reason why I said it is because I've had friends of mine flamed for no good reason, and their work was really good, even with a few mistakes here and there, so... I hope you can understand. Thank you for the review.

**ravenrocs4eva**- LOL like I told everyone else, you'll know Red X's identity in chapter 8, and the person behind the mask will say why they did it and how Raven knew them in chapter 10. Don't worry: all the questions will be answered, and you'll know who Red X really is. And I'm glad I made your day! Thanks for the review!

**Aeris-Raven**- Yeah, they're slowly coming around to X. They still don't know who he is (besides Raven) and they've had conflicts with him in the past, so they're not really on the "buddy-buddy" level as of yet. And yes, Robin's starting to get his memory back. YAY! Still has a while to go though! Thanks for reviewing!

**Rose Eclipse**- I know, I love Alfred. The kindest old man, who has, literally, served as a father figure for Bruce, and a grandfather figure for all the Robins and Batgirl. I had to put him in here: Robin had to remember somebody important, and it couldn't be any of his friends, and it couldn't be Batman, because if he remembered those, then he'd remember it all. Any of those characters are the "trigger" characters, which would set his memory off and all of the stuff he's missing would snap back to him in an instant. And yeah, I'm running this for 10 chapters, just like Sinking Into Slade (minus the preview for this fic). Thanks for the review!

I posted this past chapter at around 8 or so last night the 25th, and when I went to bed at around 12, there was already 4 reviews (not including ravenrocs4eva, whose review I received this morning). Four reviews within 4 hours of posting, and seven within the past 36. That's amazing! You all must have been waiting at your computers for HOURS just to see if I posted another chapter! I'm flattered! You guys must really like this fic, huh?

Well, on to chapter 6, and I hope you like it! It's the lead up to the grand finale, so enjoy!

* * *

Oh God, he couldn't breathe: the water was pressing him down, crushing his chest and squeezing every bit of air out of his lungs, but Red X couldn't give up; Raven's pale face was beginning to blue, and Beast Boy looked on with hopelessness as he watched his friends die. No, this isn't how the Titans were supposed to go out. No, they weren't going to die. They weren't going to DIE! It would ruin everything...

Beast Boy hovered across his shoulder, his forehead already bleeding from pounding. He hadn't gotten it open, and he looked at X with half dazed eyes; the force of the blows was slowly knocking him unconscious.

Patting the top of his head, he quickly reached the grate and assessed the damage done and the damage needed before he braced himself in the water, drew back a gloved fist and punched. CRUNCH! A sickening, twisting sound of metal rang out in its liquid amplifier, the dent Star had made deepening even more. Adamant, X punched again, his lungs burning with oxygen deficiency. If he didn't get it right this time, he'd-

Then, he saw it: air bubbles, fizzing past cracks in the grate, and replacing the floodwaters. Excited, he drew back his fist, and let it slam again, laughing a chortled, water filled cry as finally, the grate gave way. Niagara Falls poured out of the drain, and he barely had enough time to grab both Starfire and Raven before the rush of water swept him outside, with Cyborg and the changeling shortly behind. They fell, how many feet was beyond his guess, before they slammed painfully into concrete, the spouting drain flowing straight into a huge basin, where it would quickly reach the sea.

Delirious, X laughed, grateful to be alive and ignoring his wounds. That was insane, he thought, letting go of the heroines and rolling his head back, admiring the newly darkened sky and glittering stars. "Half the day in a sewer drain..."

Next to him, Raven started to stir, and she choked, coughing up a pint of water. "Ugh..."

Starfire also took her time, hacking and wheezing and glad for air. "I would... not suggest... we ever do... that again."

Again he laughed, and he answered her. "I hope we never do either."

"Can someone tell me how you got that grate open, X?" demanded Beast Boy, changing out of the bird form he had adapted during the fall, and walking over to them, supporting his mechanical friend, whose right arm slung across his shoulders. "I mean, Star couldn't even get it open, and you just popped that thing like a can of soda."

X, tired, only shrugged, trying to avoid Raven's narrowing eyes. "It's the suit. Makes me twice as strong as Star."

"Now if you guys don't mind," he changed the subject andjumped to his feetmrung out his cape, and knew, full well, that after being soaked so throughly, it was never going to dry right, "I've got to report back to Troia. She'll be wondering why we haven't talked to her in awhile. Knowing her, she's pissed off because we went swimming, instead of finding Slade."

"Wait," said Starfire, but she was too late; X had already left, a cloud of smoke from a smoke bomb masking his disappearance.

"Weird," quipped Beast Boy.

* * *

If there was one thing Troia was, it was impatient. That, and stubborn as a donkey on the fact that she refused to stay helpless when the rest of the Titans needed her. Restless, she flew through the city, masked by shadows, surveying the area and trying hard not to be noticed. Waiting around wasn't her style; she preferred action to inaction, thank you very much, regardless of the danger. Yeah, Slade's drones were after her, but did she have to sit there and do-

A flash of orange caught her attention, and she quickly hid herself behind a trash dumpster down an alley. Tense, she listened in, and, eyes narrowing in fury, she hung on Slade's every word.

"That should take care of the Titans," he soothed to himself, his arrogance disgusting her with every syllable. "Even Beast Boy cannot survive without food for long. Too bad Simms didn't give me the answers I desire, and didn't do exactly what I told him. Otherwise, this entire mess wouldn't have had to happen."

So it **had **been him who flooded the sewers! It didn't surprise her in the least; only he was capable of such a thing on such short notice! Snarling, she darted out of her hiding place and tackled him to the ground, a right hook slamming into his mask with brute force. "YOU MONSTER!"

He was surprised, unprepared for the attack, but he took the initiative, catching a fist and throwing her end-over end above him. Jumping to his feet, the mastermind considered her for a second, held up his hand and warded his drones away, his icy, lifeless tone showing his displeasure. "Troia. What a pleasant surprise. Of course, I knew you would be back: we always seem to run into each other in the most awkward of ways."

Hatred burned in her eyes, and she could feel her blood boiling as she leapt to her feet and faced him. "The only running we're going to be doing is me running you into a wall!"

"Temper, temper. Wouldn't want you to get too careless with your life... or do you?" By the way he sounded, she could picture him smirking behind his mask. "Then again, you have many lives to lose, don't you? What is this, your tenth? Twelfth?"

"My **eighty-sixth**," she hissed, seething with rage, "and you knew that. You damned me to hell three times!"

Slade laughed aloud, delighted. "Yes I did, didn't I? But I bet your new friends don't know that, now do they?" Seeing her shocked reaction confirmed it for him. "No, they don't. Didn't think so. I don't suppose the rest of the Titans know of the... history between us."

"Damn history. I'm here to finish you off, once and for all, Slade. You've haunted my nightmares for the last time!"

"Careful, Troia. If you don't learn from history, you're destined to repeat it."

Troia's eyes widened, horrified. "I'll never-"

"You and Robin have much in common; I can see that already. Determined, obsessive, driven, vengeful, vicious, and ruthless. You're even secretive, aren't you? You haven't been completely honest with the Titans, have you, Troia? I don't suppose you ever will until the trap is sprung, and you have nothing left to hide. You play the hero's game according to your rules and yours alone, excluding everyone you could count on in order to bring down the enemy. You would kill your own friends if they got in your way, because that's what makes you who you are. That trait ties you to Robin, and thus, ties you to me. I'm proud."

It was becoming near impossible to keep her fury in check, but she held it down, waiting for him to finish his small talk before she ripped his throat out. "Are you done yet? Because you're wasting good space and using up some poor soul's air supply."

"You always were the patient one, Troia. I admire that about you. It must be agonizing to keep your anger within instead of letting it out."

Defending, he blocked a punch to his head while she continued on. "I'll kill you, one of these days. When you're sitting at home, enjoying a much needed session of R and R, I'll come for you. And I'll kill you." Viciously, she smiled, and grasped his metal collar, pulling him off balance while she levitated, eye-level to him, in the air. Yanking him close, she stared him down in the eye and bared her teeth in a feral-like fashion. "You're going to wish you'd never messed with me, Slade."

She let him go, and he dropped to the ground, openly amazed she didn't kill him then and there. "And here I thought you were going to fulfill your promise, Troia. Tell me, why didn't you kill me then?"

"Because for once, you're second priority. Saving Robin comes first."

"How noble, coming from a killer."

His words stopped her cold as she strode away, and she clenched a fist. "You taught me how, Slade, thanks to the years of hell I've spent at your and Dark Angel's expense. I've never had to keep that promise in my live, ever, until you came along. I will kill you, Slade, even if someone else gets there first. You won't ever see me coming."

Slade laughed again, delighted. "I'll be looking forward to your attempts, which reminds me, now that I've got your attention: you grabbed my collar and threatened me, right? How do you think you got so close without a fight?" He waited for her answer, and continued when he was met with silence. "No answer? A pity: I expected more from you. You see Troia, the only reason why you were even close to me is because I LET you. Keep that in mind the next time we meet." Disgusted, she flew off, not listening to another word, but he kept talking. "I'll see you soon, Darkstar."

"**DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT**!" She screamed, violently turning back to him. "Don't you **EVER** call me that again!"

He just chuckled on, enjoying her reactions.

That was enough of the insults. Continuing with her flight, she never looked back once.

Vengeful. He had called her vengeful, but he didn't even know the half of it.

* * *

Later, silently, Red X left the abandoned apartment building Troia had taken up residence in and headed back to the Titans, grim certainty on his mind. Thanks to the newest confrontation with Slade, both of them were more and more determined to bring this hell spawn down, for everything that he had done. The past was meant to remain in the past, buried deep within the earth, but no, it always caught up with them, no matter what. Now was the time to face those demons: now was the time to act.

They couldn't wait any longer.

He adjusted a glove before he darted between shadows, nightfall approaching and making it easier and easier to do so. He had to find the Titans. Now.

Before long, he came across them, and landed with a forward flip in front of Raven. "Slade's threatened Troia, and I don't know about you all, but I'm sick and tired of waiting. How about some offense for once?"

The Titans' stand-in leader agreed, her hands clamping into fists with dark power. "I agree. It's about time I paid Slade back for what he's done to me on behalf of my father."

"He's going down," said Cyborg, his cannon pulsating with energy. "He's going to pay for what he's done to us."

"The dude's got no idea what's coming," quipped Beast Boy, changing into a falcon form.

"And he will receive retribution for what he has done to Robin," replied Starfire, an unnatural hardness edging into her voice.

X just smiled behind his mask, trusting his "team" completely. "Then let's go, kids. It's time for Slade to get what he's got coming. Time to finish him off, once and for all."


	7. 7: A Nightwing Nightmare

**Infamous One (on chapter 5)-** Yeah, I hoped that chapter would perk your interest. We all know and love Red X, the anti-Robin of sorts, and it's even more interesting when things are hinted at, and what his intentions are. I always have a fun time writing for him, because of his mystery and snappy comebacks. I actually did look up Slade on the net, thanks for reminding me of that... Yeah, he's pretty screwed up, and that only gives me that much more to work with when I write for him. Thanks for the review!

**(on chapter 6)-** And you don't know how I'm going to twist that sucker! I'm literally taking the continuity of the entire comic book and twisting it on end, into this wonderful thing called insanity. It's a fun ride, and I can't wait until you guys see the ending to this fic! And yeah, I agree: Slade does look like an older version of Ollie. And about Robin's reactions after he's cured: I think it'll be a bit of both, to be honest. He'll be sickened with how Slade screwed with his mind, but I think he'll be even more disgusted with himself for allowing him to DO IT. It's a sign of weakness for Robin, and he'll hate himself for it even more, and thus, try and overcome it and drive himself more towards that "Nightwing" part of his growth. He can't fully hate Slade: he himself can identify with being lonely, and needing company. He can't condone with the way Slade carried it out, but he can understand the primal nature behind it. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**Ravenrocs4eva**- LOL I think you did mention cool a couple times... Thanks for reviewing!

**Aeris-Raven**- In a basic sense, yes. When she dies, her spirit gets reborn into a child, lives long enough to experience an ultimate tragedy before she gets killed off again, and then the cycle repeats. And yes, it REALLY SUCKS. Imagine if you had to live a painful life over and over and over again... forget going to hell when you die: living IS hell! And I won't have to do a flashback chapter: Troia will explain everything at the end of chapter 10. And Red X's ID will be revealed one chapter after this one, so stay tuned! Thanks for the review!

**Darth Nat**- I'm sure your Robin/Slade fic is just fine! To be honest, I was completely stuck in my plotline in the last chapter. I was looking at where I was going and what I was going to do, and I realized I backed myself into a corner. I, literally, had NO IDEA what to do for Chapter 6! I had planned it out so well, that this, this, and this would happen at this time... but I realized, "CRAP! I have one more chapter in there that I need to write! I don't know what to put there!" Then I realized: here, we've been focusing on the Titans, Red X, Slade and Robin. Who were we missing? Oh yeah: TROIA! So I had a bit of a background scene in there, where you see just how much she hates Slade, and their "chemistry". Add in a little bit of Red X being the "hero", and I had my chapter, although, at first, I didn't like it. To me, it felt too much like just filler, you know? All bulk, and nothing good. But it served a purpose in the end, and you guys seemed to really enjoy it... And like I told everybody else: Red X's ID will be in the next chapter. It'll be one of those "d'oh!" moments, because you'll look back and realize that it couldn't have been anyone else. I will post a list at the end of chapter 10, revealing the clues I've sprinkled here and there about Red X's ID, and you'll want to kick yourselves for not seeing it sooner! Also, about the Robin/Titans fight: not so in this fic. I know full well that he can take down the Titans with both hands tied behind his back. Trust me, I know: he was trained by the most deadliest and most cunning crime fighter ever to live, who could take down the entirety of the Justice League in a single night, including Superman. As Batman's partner, I have no doubt Robin could take every single one of the Titans down. Now, in the Apprentice duo, he didn't, because he was under his own free will. But in this fic, he still doesn't remember his friends. He knows not to fully trust Slade, but he can't trust the Titans either. The objects of **TRUST** and **FRIENDSHIP** is what determines whether or not he'd ever attack them. He's got neither, which makes him a very, VERY deadly enemy. He literally has nothing to lose by killing any of the Titans or X for that matter. He kills them, and he can shake it off, going, "Ok, what's next?" without a second thought. This fight is going to be a very, intricate and complex thing, and I hope I can live up to your expectations when it comes to written fights! Thanks for the review!

**Closetwriter, aka maroonedpirate11**- I know, I do too. In a way, I suppose he does consider them kids: he can be more mature than they can, and he tends to act like the makeshift leader more than Raven does. And yeah, Darkstar, which shall be interesting to unfold... oh, the possibilities! Thanks for reviewing!

**Insanity for Dummies**- Don't worry: this next chapter will pretty much be entirely in Robin's point of view. You'll see more of Robin than you ever have before, and the start of an entirely creepy/insane one at that. And is X a girl? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not going to tell. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled! Thanks for the review!

**KaliAnn**- Oh, you have absolutely NO IDEA how much Troia hates Slade. You'll find out exactly why in chapter 9. And you're entirely right: they do thrive on each other. In a way, Troia is like Robin is like Slade. It's a triad that comes into play in the future, and will cement Troia and Robin's friendship, just like in the comic books. You'll see how that happens in the chapters to come. And this chapter: all Robin. Don't worry: you're getting our favorite Boy Wonder. Thanks for reviewing!

Well, it's time for chapter 7! Enjoy!

* * *

It was getting too hard to think. The withdrawal from his adrenaline shots was starting to take his toll, and he fell, exhausted, listless and lifeless on his medical bed. God, he hated this weakness, this exhaustion of the worst kind, and at the moment, he could've killed himself for waiting this long to figure things out. Those shots were like drugs, drugs of the addicting kind, and his body was shutting down, too tired to do anything but sleep. His head was dizzy and his body was like lead, drawing him closer and closer downward to the pillow before it touched... 

He was out before he could cry out in warning to his "father".

* * *

The wind howled in the trees and leaves were picked up by the gusts with relative ease, crackling and crunching underneath his footsteps like dried crackers. Outlines of blackened, shadows that passed for trees sealed him in, crows mounted on every branch and cawing a cruel, almost vicious squawking that made his ears hurt from listening to it. The skyline vanished like it had never been, swallowed by the massive forest while the moon's light was fading, a lunar eclipse slowly making its way over it like a hellish halo. It chilled Robin to the bone, watching the moon slowly vanish into thin air... 

He looked downward and noticed he was still wearing his usual Slade uniform, and he felt a bit better, comfortable in his own skin for once. No freaky green gloves, no billowing black and yellow cape; just him, with orange, black, and metal.

He was safe, for now.

Muffled clapping alerted his senses, and he whirled around in circles, trying to locate it. "Who's there?"

"Nobody important," called back a voice eerily familiar, and he almost didn't recognize it to be his own. "Just a figment of your imagination."

"If you're a figment, then why are you talking to me?"

"No reason," it said, sneering. "Just to say that you're a failure, Robbo. How does it feel to betray the one person who actually gave a damn about you?"

Wide eyed, he looked up, and watched as a figure dropped into view. Within seconds, he gasped, face to face with a disturbing version of himself, older, and snarling behind an even more fierce mask than his own. What surprised Robin the most was his attire: an eerie mixture of cloth costume and metallic armor drastically like his own, and yet... so different. The shoulder plates he wore were golden monstrosities, and gauntlets of the same type adorned his wrists, two sets of raking talon-like claws extended. His hair wasn't gelled like Robin normally had it, his bangs flowing down over his eyes. Shin guards and knee guards of the same gleaming bullion adorned his legs, along with a set for his elbows, but what really set off the look was the ocean blue bird adorning his chest, its wingspan stretching from shoulder to shoulder and clutching a curved letter "S" in its talons.

A name came to his lips, but he couldn't deliberately recall what it had been, or who told him. The figure in front of him just peered down at him and snickered. "What's the matter, Robin? Afraid of what you'll become?"

"Who are you?" he asked, perplexed as anything.

"You, in a manner of speaking," replied the man, grinning. "You can call me Nightwing, if you can wrap your brain around the concept. But enough about me: I'm not here to personally indulge you on who you'll become. What I'm here for is to prevent you from screwing it up."

Screwing up his future? This was getting confusing. "What do you mean, screw it up? My future's fine! I can deal with what comes-"

"BZZZZZT. Wrong. You see, I know you Rob. I know what you know, and I know what you're thinking right now because, guess what? I've been there. I've been there, right in your shoes, and you know what? I'm going to give you the same piece of advice Slade told me when I started questioning him."

"I don't quest-"

"Sure you do. I can see it in your eyes. But you want to know the real secret?" he bent down a bit and leaned in, leveling his eyes to Robin's face. "You want to know the secret to dealing with Slade?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

**SLAP!** A swift, ruthless strike whipped The Boy Wonder's face to the side, and Nightwing laughed aloud, roaring. "You don't! Slade deals with you!"

The clout stung and throbbed, bringing tears to his eyes. "What was that for?"

"You idiot. You stupid, senseless, idiot! Do you really believe the lies that your own mind is telling you? An active imagination can get you killed. Do you want to die? Do you want to face a fate worse than death?"

"Not... particularly..."

"Then shut up, follow orders, and don't question Slade. You could have the golden opportunity, Robin. You could be somebody, and everyone would know your name. You could make something of yourself if you only stayed at his side like a true son. It's what I would do. It's what I've done. Now," he gestured grandly to the space around him, "Gotham is mine to command. It's my castle and my home, now that I've broken the Batman, shattered his spine in two and tossed him into the garbage, where all the vermin belong. I can do anything I want, whenever I want it, because I stayed on the winning team. Don't you want to win, Robin? Don't you want to be the champ?"

His words were confusing him even more, twisting his thoughts into pretzels. "Yeah, I want to win, but there's something-"

"Maybe we can clear things up," snarled a voice behind him, and he jumped, eyes wider than ever at the sight of an emerald lion coming into the clearing. The big cat roared, and pranced in front of Nightwing like a trained cat before it morphed into a creature unlike anything Robin had ever seen before. His hair was spring green, splayed in all directions while hands with claw-like nails gripped the forest floor below. Canines extended into pointed fangs, and he walked on all four of his limbs like a quadruped. A hyena's laugh erupted from his lips, and a feral, predatory look crossed his face. "Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in, a little lost birdy. Can I eat it, Nightwing? I love fresh meat before brunch. I get the munchies."

The older man patted the creature's head, and sneered. "Beast Boy here loves a snack, anytime, any day, anywhere, especially if it's got meat on its bones. After Father broke him of his veggie habit, he's been eating like there's no tomorrow since day one."

"Gar isn't the only thing that's changed," cackled a voice from the left, and horrified, Robin watched a slim, catlike figure stalk out of the shadows, her ruby red skin striking against her four sets of bright yellow eyes. Her hair was long and knotted, purple and dark, while the robes she once wore were replaced with a revealing, skimpy outfit full of leather, straps and metallic rings. Her long legs were encased in boots too small for her feet, and she seemed to enjoy the agony they created. She was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a monster of the ninth level in hell, and she relished every moment of it. The words she spoke came out more fluidly, clipped and precise, with malice lacing every syllable and cruelty with every sentence. "Some of us have had a lot worse happen."

"Ah, Raven," greeted Nightwing, holding out his hand to catch hers within his grasp and kissing every digit, "I always love it when you drop by. Chaos and destruction always follows."

She bared her teeth and grinned vivaciously, her canines pointy and sharp. "Nightwing, beloved, always a pleasure. I hope I'll be seeing you later tonight at my place."

"Is it going to be just you and me?"

"You, and whoever you want me to be," she corrected, a dark, seductive look crossing her every feature. "You can have me anytime."

Sickened, Robin took a step back from the scene and bumped into another figure, who promptly gripped his arm and wrenched it back. "Where do you think you're going, whelp? Backing out, I see? Away from your future? Pathetic."

He had backed into a horror beyond purgatory, every spare part and place filled to the brim with weaponry and machinery he had never even seen before. Every single part of Cyborg's body was fit with weaponry close to that of a nuclear bomb, cruel pickaxes and laser weapons permanently raised and ready to fire. Any semblance of goodness in him was now blank impassiveness, a grim look of neutrality marking what was once a bright and happy smile. His movements were stilted, as if the weight of his body drug him down, but he didn't mind; he was too busy watching the Boy Wonder cringing in fear of him.

"I'm sure you remember Cyborg," quipped the future incarnation of Robin, a little bit preoccupied with Raven's lips to even glance in his former self's direction. "I should warn you though, his personality files have been wiped clean, so he's not very friendly."

"But I can be friendly," another voice hauntingly said, and a burst of fire scorched a set of trees as an alien set them aflame, making her way towards the group with rank and authority. Her attire was that of a vixen, black leather bustier tied loosely at the top over red leather short shorts that clung to her waist. Her boots came all the way to mid thigh, a golden belt Robin thought he recognized slung over one hip and down the next. Her fingernails were painted bright green while the fingers themselves crackled with unused energy, giving off sparks of green lightning here and there for incalculable periods of time. Her hair was gathered into a messy bun, and she laughed evilly at Robin's bewilderment. "What? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe a Glendersnarch decided to bite it off for you."

She swaggered confidently to Nightwing's side and pulled his face towards hers, kissing it deeply with enough passion to light the forest around them on fire. "I missed you, honey."

"I missed you even more," cooed Raven, drawing his face back in her direction and licking his lips. "Just wait until after we finish this one off, and then we can go wherever you like."

"And here I thought your attitude was just trying to make me jealous," quipped Beast Boy, laughing like a hyena.

"Well what can I say? I love a man behind a mask. And birds of a feather..."

"...Flock together," finished Nightwing, and smooched her once before swinging to Starfire and locked lips with her too, devouring her with his kissing. "As long as my Starfire lights the way."

Oh God, this was enough... He stumbled away from Cyborg and threw up in a bush nearby, sickened by this display. "Stop it! What the hell are you-"

"This is what you get, Robin. This is what you get for turning away from Slade. You want things to turn out this way? Then keep resisting. Keep questioning Father's orders, and you'll end up like this!"

"No..." No, it couldn't be true! This was a dream! It's a dream, it's a nightmare, it's a-

"Beast Boy, sick 'em," whispered Starfire, and giggled as the beast complied, morphing into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and, with bright beady eyes, snapped up the Boy Wonder in his jaws before he could utter a word.

* * *

Screaming, Robin woke up, shaken,letting the dimly lit medical lab draw him back to his senses. He was sweating profusely, and his heart raced a mile a minute. Oh God, that was evil. It was sick, evil, cruel- 

"Robin," said a voice, drowning out his chaotic thoughts. "It's time. The Titans will be here any minute. Do you think you're ready to stand up to them?"

"Yes." The word was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "I can."

"Will you be able to kill them?"

"Yes." He had no doubt about it now: even if he was still suspicious of his father, what the future held for him was ten times as worse than his wrath. If resisting Slade meant he was going to be that... that... thing... The very thought of his nightmare sickened him further.

He'd take his chances with his father.

"Then come along then. It's time to face your fears."

"Yes, Father," he replied, and hopped off the bed without another word.

* * *

Slade could see them in the distance, five figures headed in this direction, and he smiled behind his mask. "Here they come," he said, an arm around the young boy's shoulders. "Are you ready?" 

"Yes Father."

Whatever had transpired in that medical lab before he got there had made all the difference. His previous questions aside, the boy looked more ready than ever to be free of his past burdens, and Slade was proud of him for being so: after all these years, months, and days, Robin would finally be his, with no interference.

The Titans would fall today.

Wait... five. Slade had counted five. Making a quick head count, he confirmed his numbers and stood, surprised, at an uncalculated fifth character, decked out in a black, white, and red uniform that he had only seen on one other occasion. No, it couldn't be: Robin was right here! So who could that be?

Red X? What was he doing here? Who was behind the mask?

"Now it gets interesting," he said to himself, and watched as each Titan took up a defensive stance, doing their best in anticipation. They were ready to fight; he could see it in their eyes.

But then again, so were his apprentice and himself.

"Let the games begin," he called out, and charged into the fray.


	8. 8: Finding the Truth in a Lie

**Insanity for Dummies**- Hehehehe, sorry about the dream. Really, I am, but I needed something to get Robin to be more "obedient" towards Slade. I needed something that could really rattle his chains and give him a good scare, and thus, scaring him into doing something he probably wouldn't do at that point. And yes, Slade is evil for putting Mock Robin (or should I say, Mock Nightwing now?) into Robin's head. Thanks for the review!

**AriesFalcon (on chapter 6)-** Oh, okies. Still don't like people doing that, even though I'm not the target, but hey, your life... Anyway, thanks for the review! I'm glad you like this fic!

**(on chapter 7)-** Ah, well that sort of makes sense. Although at times, I don't know what else to do with some characters, I don't call them a "goth wannabe" or "stupid, random and senseless" person. I'm glad you're not flaming me, and thank you for steering clear of it in regards to my fics! I'm sorry I drive you insane, but I can't help it; it builds suspense and keeps you hooked on the plot! Besides, I like hearing from you guys, and if I posted all of my fiction at one time, whose to say you all **READ** it all, and not just skim through? Anyway, thanks for the note! Glad you liked the chapter!

**semmy-genius**- Thank you! That is probably the biggest compliment anyone could ever say to me! Yeah, I sat down one day after watching the Apprentice Duo, and I instantly fell in love with it. I was inspired by it, and it made me want to write and read about the Slade/Robin relationship (not lemon yaoi stuff though. I will never write that sort of a deal, because although I support gay/lez stuff between people Hey, I figure, you know, it's their life. And better to have someone than no one at all, right? I'm not interested in writing it. However, on occasion, I have been known to delve into it, thanks to Ghene, a writer on here who does strictly yaoi/lemon/guy&guy-or-girl&girl stories... Hey, if Ghene can make Slade turn into a cat and act all cute around Robin, I'm all for it! lol!). Anyway, back to the point... I always wanted to read a story about the Apprentice thing between Robin and Slade, but when I looked, there weren't many good fics about it. I tried reading some of them, but I couldn't get into it. So, I tried going one better: I wrote one myself that I knew, if I read it personally, I would love it to death. Now, onw story and eight chapters of another later, I've still got readers! I'm amazed! LOL I'm sorry it's disrupting your homework time: believe me, it does the same for me when I want to write a chapter or two! I've got it to where I can accomplish HW in about an hour or so though, so that's nice... Otherwise, I spend my time either ficcing, surfing the web, or playing Solitare lol! And you did fine for a review: I like all kinds of messages (except flames, because fic + flames bad), and yours was great! Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy you like what I'm doing so far!

**ravenrocs4eva**- LOL, I think you've reached your limit on cools. I'm going to have to cut you off from there lmao! Don't worry: this update's coming right at you ASAP! Thanks for noting me!

**Aeris-Raven**- Interesting indeed. Yeah, I had an interesting time seeing these guys as evil, except for Raven, Robin and Beast Boy (Notice how BB wanted to eat meat all the time? That in itself is creepy). Those guys were all easy, because they've basically been evil before, or I could really, really easily picture what sort of person they would be if their personality did a 180. And yes, where is Troia indeed? You'll find that out in this chapter, and you're right: I do have a good reason why she's been absent for awhile. I've got everything mapped out with Troia, and you'll know a bit more about her background, and why she is who she is and does what she does. She's got a method to her madness, so don't worry: you'll find out most of that in chapters 9 and 10. Thanks for reviewing!

**Darth Nat**- Ah, I was wondering who would catch that! I actually had a reason for writing that slight, subliminal bit in: You see, at this point in time, Robin's mind is trying to piece itself back together. But Mock Robin/Mock Nightwing, the annoying little gremlin in Robin's head, can't let that happen. His job is to keep Robin on the crooked and wide instead of the straight and narrow: a.k.a., Slade's side. His entire purpose is to keep Robin in Slade's grasp, no matter what the cost. Ergo, a horrifying dream of his friends (which he partly remembers but not very well; Then again, even if you WEREN'T friends with the Titans, you'd be scared out of your mind if you saw that disgusting scene in person!). However, his mind, or rather, the pieces of it, want to do one thing: get Robin back to where he's supposed to be; make Robin remember his real life. Even though it's being repressed by MR/MN, it's Robin's MIND that starts oozing its way back, and leaving messages for Robin to figure out himself. To put it simply, think of MR/MN as a brick wall with a few cracks in it. Now, one side, we have the Boy Wonder, lost and confused. On the other, his memory, and the life he once had. Those two are trying to get back to each other, but they can't, because of the wall. However, his memory is trying to return back to him, slowly, by seeping into the cracks in the wall, and out the other side. To do that, it has to pass THROUGH the wall, and thus, temporarily alter the wall's state. It was Robin's mind that put that "S" on MR/MN's chest. It was his mind's way of saying, "YO! Pay attention! Slade's bad news if you trust him too much!" It even manages to slip into MR/MN's speech, with the "I'm on Slade's side!" part. Because of his mind, it makes MR/MN a hypocrite, and shows Robin to not trust what he "sees" and hears. My point is, Robin's mind is trying to come back, and succeeds a bit in his dreams by showing him that he can't trust by his eyes or what he thinks is his "mind": he's got to trust his intuition and his heart in order to get back the life he lost. And I'm glad you're looking forward to the fight: it's going to be tough to "animate it in written text"! And thank you on the characters' descriptions in the dream. I saw Raven's picture online, and I was like, "MAN, if I can, I want to write Evil Raven. That would be so cool!" and also, since in the entirety of these two fics I've done, it's been a constant back and forth thing with Raven, Robin, and Starfire. First, it's RobRae, then it's RobStar, then it's back to RobRae... so I finally said, "Ok, look. Robin is evil, Raven's evil, and Starfire is evil. They're all evil, and I want to make them all completely opposite of who they really are. How can I do that?" Then I realized that maybe, they'd retain some of their TT characteristics, or mainly, for the girls, feelings towards Robin. Ergo, I made them his "girls", so to speak, and over exaggerated their "Love affairs" with him. And if you had to ask me, I'd say Beast Boy's evil persona was the worst. I mean, it was unnatural the way he kept asking for meat, and being so bloodthirsty... It made me think of him being more of an animal than a man, a savage beast completely untamed and snapping at the first hand that feeds him... Creepy... Anyway, thanks for the review! I really enjoyed answering everything!

**KaliAnn**- Thanks Kali! Yeah, that gave me shivers when I wrote it... His mind is a mess, but his heart? It's still there, and he's got to learn to trust his heart. It knows what's going on, and hopefully, that will be the thing that leads him out of this mess. And yeah, Red's an interesting character! He'll definitely have some weight to throw around in this chapter... Thanks for the review! I'll read your fic ASAP!

**Closetwriter**- **NO**, he **DOESN'T**, and you caught that little bit! Awesome Maroon! I was wondering who caught that! That's a **BIG** clue on the identity of Red X, if you think about it... Nice job! Thanks for the review!

**Alexnandru Van Gordan-** Oh no! I'm sorry about your leg! I hope you feel better! It's ok that you haven't reviewed: obviously, you've had more than enough to deal with over the past couple weeks, so of course I'm not going to fault you for it! It's perfectly understandable! And no, I didn't mean that you meant she was a Mary Sue: I was just saying that I was going to do my best NOT to make her into one! I wasn't accusing you of anything! And the lecture's always appreciated: it gives me a review over what NOT to do with a character! Awwwwww, thanks for the comment on my writing ability. It makes me blush every time, because I never take the time and go, "WOW, this is awesome!". Seriously, I never do that; All I do is write it, post it, and most likely, go to bed, because it's about 10 or so at night... or beyond that... Anyway, I'm glad you enjoy the fic, and I'm glad you like Troia! I tried to make her likable, and an anti-Terra, because not too many people liked Terra (I personally did, but others didn't feel that way...) Sorry about the dream, and no, Red X will not die. I am purposely saving x because I love that guy! He's a great character, and there's no way I'm going to let him die! Yeah, Troia's past will come into play in chapters 8-10, more so in 9&10, so be on the lookout for that. And thank you on the Slade insanity part: I try my best. Really, he's just slightly more nutty than the next person, no more insane than anybody else, but the difference is that he actually makes his insane world REAL. He's got the power to do so, and he uses it! No, Simms didn't die. No one dies in this fic! I promise! If I was a Girl Scout still, I'd give you the whole "Scout's Honor!" but... nah. LOL! Thanks for the review dude! Good to see that you're still with me, and enjoy this chapter!

**Infamous One-** Yup, Ugly is one way to look at it, and the thing that makes this different than in the Apprentice Duo is that Robin isn't going to hold back. It's going to be very, VERY difficult to deal with a battle of this magnitude, and I'm going to try my best to get it all put down the way I want it to. And you're right about the shots: I thought of the idea BEFORE I even read Slade's bio though, but that does seem a bit ironic... Interesting. Very interesting... And yeah, the sequence was creepy and weird. Very, **VERY WEIRD**! Thanks for reviewing!

**Memorysofawhiterose-** You caught it too! Awesome! Yeah, Slade doesn't KNOW who RED X IS! That's a hint on the ID of X! Great job for catching that! And thanks for the compliments! Wheeeeeee, I'm happy you're enjoying it! Thanks for the note!

First off, can I say this: **YOU ALL ROCK MY ROBIN SOCKS!** I'm serious, this is the **FIRST TIME** in the history of my ficcing career itself that I have EVER gotten more than 5 reviews on a chapter (Well, besides my Farscape ones on Kansas, a message board I frequent...) And I didn't just get 6: I GOT 11! **WOW**! I feel like a celebrity here! **WOW! YOU GUYS ROCK**! _Is Extremely Happy At the Moment_

Ok, anyway, this is it: **THE BIG ONE**. Chapter 8, and the chapter where the ID of X is revealed! Don't worry if you missed all the clues pointing to it; in chapter 10, I'll tell you every single one, just in case you're reading (or rereading) this story, get to this chapter, and go, "WHAT? HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE?" because it seems impossible. But trust me, this chapter will make you flip out over X's ID. Some of you will be slapping your foreheads, going, "DUH. Why didn't I see that one coming?" but it'll be all worth it! I promise! Also, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the whole big bang, all out brawl/street fight that some of you wanted. I got to 12 Word pages, including these notes, and my neck is killing me at the moment, so I'm justgoing to stop and post this as is. Maybe the next chapter will be better...Now, without further distraction, on to chapter 8! **ENJOY**!

* * *

It was Slade who struck first, a right hook across Starfire's jaw while he sprung in the air, leaping right over Beast Boy and slamming a boot straight into his back. He screamed in pain and fainted because of it, but the masked man paid no attention, focusing on Cyborg while he steered clear of the dark magics Raven summoned up. A few blows to the head knocked him out cold for the moment, while a well placed boomerang blades cut the witch's skin in bloody patches here and there, and she dropped like a stone, her concentration disrupted. Green starbolts headed his way, but Slade was too fast, a left cross knocking her senseless and motionless into the dirt while he crouched like a cat, waiting for more from his prey.

* * *

Robin, unlike his master, had stayed frozen in place, his eyes wide in shock. No, the Titans, these had to be the... 

Overwhelming pain enveloped his mind, starting at the temple and throbbing until he couldn't even hear anymore. This was the worst of the bunch, just about as bad as the one he'd had when he faced X the first time! He blindly fell to his knees, trying to regain his composure, but finding it hard to do so. God, he just wished it could stop...

* * *

All four remaining Titans down for the count in less than twenty seconds flat. And Slade had barely broken a sweat. 

It was then he noticed a black and red figure with a crossbone face watching him, standing there motionless and outlined by the shining light of a full moon. Red X had arrived.

Slade laughed, enjoying the staring contest and the non-verbal challenge. "So you're the new Red X. I'll admit, I liked the old one better." He turned over to his shoulder and called out to his apprentice, who he noticed, for the first time, was on his knees. "Get up, Robin, I want you to meet an old friend of mine. Of course, he's not exactly the... same. Are you, Red X?"

X said nothing, just glared at him with hatred behind narrowed, masked eyes.

"What? No witty comebacks, no satirical retorts? I'm surprised. It makes me wonder if you have the brains to come up with some."

"**KEEP WONDERING!**" screamed the thief, and he launched towards Slade with both arms swinging. He blocked a left hook and jab, along with a few good attempts at a leg sweep before he finally got to terms with the power and ferocity of the teen before him. It was then that he was able to administer a few punches and kicks himself, expecting to hit the targets he had personally known from experience would cripple even the mightiest of fighters.

But X was too quick for his liking, and he found himself blocked at every attempt, the pace of the fighting becoming almost something superhuman. For every haymaker and karate chop, every snap kick and knee to the groin he administered, the teen blocked them all with ease, and delivered a few punches of his own that left Slade in a less than opportune position. The fighting itself went beyond a normal brawl; it literally was all reaction, and little to no thought in between each battering blow.

They were matched blow for blow, and Slade didn't like it one bit.

"Well, it seems that you're a lot better than you look," he said, spinning away from Red's grasp and falling back, winded.

"And you're not giving it your best shot, Slade. You can do better than this."

The biting remark almost made him attack right then, but he had a better idea. If it was Robin the Titans wanted... "Fine. Robin," he called over his shoulder, and a tussled ebony haired head looked up at him, still on his knees after all this time, "get over here. If it's a fight you want, Red X, then I'm sure Robin can give it to you."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the madman, a red haired head popped up from the ground and groaned, her head killing her. What had happened? Her friends and herself had ran to this point on Dagger's Cliff, where an entrance to Slade's new hideout was, and then... 

Suddenly, it had all come back to her: Troia, Red X, Slade... Robin. Robin. **ROBIN!** Her mind jolted her body, and she was on her feet in no time, surveying what had happened to her friends and the area around her. Wide eyed, she crawled over to Beast Boy and cradled him in her arms for a moment, trying to wake him, but he didn't stir. Whatever happened to him, he'd be out for awhile... Same thing, apparently, had happened to Cyborg, because he didn't move either.

When she approached Raven, however, she was met with some success, as the witch was alive, her eyes closed.

"Friend Raven, are you undamaged?"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinth... Yes, Starfire, I'm ok. Right now, I need to stay 'dead' for awhile. I need to reach Robin..." She continued her chanting, and eventually, her eyes flung open, mystic white light shining from them. "Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." Instantly, a black shadow passed from her body and sank to the earth beneath them, crawling along the surface like a wraith, and headed for Robin, the poor boy striding towards his master like a wounded dog.

It was up to Starfire then. She had to buy Raven more time.

"Slade!"

Slade, not taking his eyes off Red X, called out to Starfire. "So, the Princess of Tamaran has finally woken up. I expected you to be unconscious still, but I must have misjudged."

"Slade, stop this at once! I have no need to harm you! In fact, I have a proposition for you, in case there is a chance that you may be interesting in one."

Red X glanced in her direction and cursed, angry. "Starfire! Shut up!"

"Hmmm? Do you care for this girl, X?"

When he heard that, X snarled even more, insulted. "Are you kidding me? The only one who remotely cares about her that way is him!" He pointed straight at Robin. "He's the one who's freaking in love with her!"

* * *

Robin's heart stopped, trying to come to terms with what the girl had said. He knew her, knew her name too: she was one of the ones in his dream, the redhead... S... S... Star... Star? Starfire. Yeah, that was her name... 

Suddenly, Slade's voice shouted to him, and he snapped out of his daze. "ROBIN! Deal with her!"

He had no choice but to comply. Setting his jaw, he lowered his eyes and dived straight towards her, watching her flit out his grasp and fly a few meters upward, surprised. "Robin, I do not wish to fi-"

Throwing a flash grenade, Robin watched as Starfire was blinded, and she plummeted, hitting the rocky ground below them with a thump. Leaping upon her, he unclipped a laser knife from his belt, brandished it, and held her down with a chokehold in one hand while getting ready to strike her with the other.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt her oxygen being cut off, her lungs trying to gasp in air. "Robin, please... Stop... this... I... cannot... breathe..." she called out to X as well, in a last ditch effort for aid. "X, please... stop him..."

"You'll be dead soon, Titan. I'm sorry... such a pretty girl like you... has to die like this..." Something in his heart fluttered, and a brief flash of pain was all Red X needed to catch him in a running tackle, throwing the apprentice off of the Tamaranean.

Damn. He had heard her...

Ego and alter ego squared off as Starfire coughed, the lack of atmosphere enough to render her dazed for a few minutes. Robin snarled, disappointed and furious at the newcomer. "I thought Slade was your target, X."

"Sorry kid. I really didn't want to interrupt your little lovers' spat, but hey, what can I say? I'd rather have both your eyes on me anyway." He posed in a karate stance before he winked, taunting the Boy Wonder. "Besides, I can always save Slade for later, right after I'm done with you."

* * *

Slade himself was, for the moment, out of the fray, grateful that X had broken off the engagement. Now, he'd see the full extent of his "son's" abilities. That, and Red X's. There was something about X that seemed familiar...

* * *

Red X watched Robin closely, the second time they'd done so within the past twenty-four hours, but this time, something wasn't the same. There was something strange about this time, and the thief had a hard time picking it out until he studied Robin a bit more and smiled. The boy's heart wasn't in it this time. His stance gave him away: the slightly slouching shoulders, the limp hands, the somewhat off placement of his feet. Everything about him screamed of uncertainty, and Red X was glad for it: it would mean that he could more than match the former Titan.

* * *

Robin struck first, fists flying with a flurry of punches and kicks, each one succeeding until the last minute, where a block was quickly placed. He gritted his teeth and, frustrated, kicked the pace up a notch, leaping into the air into a side kick and aiming at his foe. Again, just like the kicks and punches, X was open until the very lest second, where he slithered out of it somehow. 

This was not working, and the Boy Wonder was furious. Why wasn't X fighting back? Why was he just standing there, like a...

He never saw it coming. An insanely fast punch caught him on the side of the head, and, dumbstruck, he didn't even notice a black shadow creeping up his leg and into his mind. A flash of white light, and he was gone.

* * *

In his mind's eye, he was back in the woods, the familiar howling wind sending chills up and down his spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them: the monstrosities, jeering him, laughing at him, taunting him. But this time, it was different. He didn't know how or why; he just knew. 

A hand touched his shoulder and he flinched, thinking it was his father's, but no; it was too slender and small to be his. A jeweled glove followed the hand, and he glanced over at its owner, surprised. It was another girl, her purple hair waving in the breeze while the red jewel on her forehead glittered with power. Her pale skin was accented with her purple eyes, ones that were crinkled in severe sadness. The blue cloak she wore hid her body, but she seemed harmless enough... she was, wasn't she?

"Where..?"

"We're in your mind, Robin. And is this what Slade is making you see? These illusions?" She gestured towards the mock version of herself and shivered, clearly uncomfortable with the image. "Fight it, Robin. I know you can."

"Who are you?" he asked, confused. "I don't even know you, but I..."

"Yes you do. You know me, Robin, and more importantly, I know you. I know who you are, and what you are, and I know that you're not this." She gestured downwards at his metal plated uniform before speaking again. "This is what Slade wants you to think you are, and you were, once. You did it because you cared for your friends. You saved us by becoming Slade's apprentice because you thought it was the only way to do so. Eventually though, we ended up saving you."

He was confused, but somewhere in his mind, it rang true. Shaking, he stared down his "future self" and closed his eyes, trying to remember. "I can't... I don't..."

"It's ok, Robin. You don't have to right now. Let me remember for you." She took his hand in hers and smiled a little, trying to be friendly. "Like I said, I know you, Robin. You're smarter than people give you credit for, and you've got a good heart. You care for people because they mean so much to you, and you always remember the right words to say in a person's time of need. You obsess about a lot of things, but it's understandable: you're the type of person who needs to be needed. You have a darker side that you keep repressed continuously, something we both have in common, and you're a leader in every way that it matters. You're my friend, Robin, and I am not leaving you here, alone, until you remember it."

Robin grimaced in pain a bit as another migraine came back, and a flash of her with marks on her body came into focus. "You... you had... tattoos. Marks. Something bad was going to happen if that happened again. I saw... Slade... With the same marks..."

She smiled wider, slightly uncharacteristic of her. "You're starting to remember things."

"But, everything my fath... Slade, everything Slade told me... was that a lie? And why would he do this to me? Hide my memories?"

"Control, Robin. Slade would do anything to control you, to make it so that you would be the son he never had. And he would have succeeded too if your memories hadn't started to come back. I could sense your mind when we came to find you, and as soon as I knew what kind of mess it was in, I knew I had to do everything I could to purposefully be taken out of the fight. I had to fool Slade in order to save you, so I played dead and sent my soul self here."

Suddenly, a thought came to him and he looked at her suspiciously, almost angrily. "Wait, how do I know you're telling me the truth? For all I know, you could be lying to me in order to get me to join the Titans."

The girl nodded, understanding. "Understandable; you've been under Slade's control for so long, you don't know up from down. Then let me answer your question WITH a question: has Slade ever made you take anything? Like pills, medicines? Has he made you do anything very strange?"

"Shots," he blurted out, surprised at his trust in her. "I've gotten shots in the arm. Adrenaline shots. And I've gone through resistance testing."

"Testing?"

"Shock treatments."

She shivered severely. "No wonder you're amnesiac. Electroshock therapy can actually kill brain cells, and eliminate memory, if the shock's heavy enough. And I bet you those adrenaline shots were really brainwashing drugs."

"This is insane," he laughed, disbelieving and shaking his head. "Why would Slade want to erase my..."

Then, it all made sense, and the images of Nightwing and his fiendish friends started to fade away. Realization dawned on the Boy Wonder, and he dropped to his knees, stunned. "I don't remember who I am," he murmured. "He wants to make sure I don't remember who I am."

"Are you going to let him?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice Robin," her voice and body were fading now, and he could feel himself wake up. "You just have to make the right one."

* * *

He moaned, and slowly got up, noticing two things. One of them was the edge of the cliff five meters away, and the other was a gloved hand reaching down for him. "Are you ok, Robin?" 

Taking the hand, he flipped X on his back and put a foot on his throat, more out of automated defense than out of malice as he watched X's head dangle precariously off the ledge. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Yes, that's the spirit, Robin. Crush him," cheered Slade, walking towards them and relishing the moment as he watched. "Show him that the Batman doesn't need his little messenger boy anymore."

"You're one to talk," he replied, a threatening glare turned towards his "father". As quickly as he'd bested X, he turned on Slade, gripping his metal collar and hissed. "What the hell have you done to me?"

The madman looked at him, amused. "What makes you think I've done...?" A soft moaning sound caught his ears, and he took one glance at Raven to know exactly what happened. "She's contaminated your mind, Son. She's a witch, and she uses her powers to manipulate anyone she wants. You have to fight her, or else..."

"Or else what?" he was getting riled up now, furious and serious as purgatory. "You did something to me, Slade. You did something to my mind and I don't know what it was but..."

What he didn't expect was for Slade to jerk him forward with a mighty pull of his own, a clenched fist meeting the Boy Wonder's chest as the wind was sucked out of him. Whoozy, he tottered on his two feet precariously, backing away several feet to try and regain his balance.

But he didn't have that many feet to spare as he lost his footing. Wide eyed, he screamed as his boots touched nothing, and he plummeted over the cliff without another word.

Robin was going to fall to his death.

"Good bye, my boy," muttered Slade, dissatisfied. "If I can't have you, than neither will the Titans."

* * *

Starfire screamed, and Red X was still recovering from asphyxia when he watched, helplessly, as Robin fell off the cliff, heading straight towards the rocky crevice below. White eyes grew wider and he gasped, shocked. How in hell could Slade do such a thing? 

There was no time to think, and if there had been, X wouldn't have taken it. Every muscle just reacted on its own, and the form of a thief leapt up and dived straight after Robin, hoping that it wasn't too late to change the Boy Wonder's fate.

There had to be time...

* * *

It was said that when faced with death, your life flashes before your eyes. For Robin, it wasn't just life: it was the life that Slade hadn't told him. 

He closed his eyes, knowing full well that he hadn't packed a grappling hook out of furious indignation towards Slade's advice to bring one, and expected death, watching the movie of his life replay in his mind for what seemed to be like the very first time.

He saw his parents, acrobats, training alongside him in Haley's Circus. The Flying Graysons, that's what they were, and oh, what a life that was! He had wanted nothing more than to live there forever, being a part of a family which provided service for others. He was an entertainer, someone who had the gift to amuse anyone or anything that strode beyond the tarps and big tops, and there was nothing he loved more than that.

Then... Zucco. Tony Zucco, the man who changed his life forever. Wincing, he heard the shots fired, cutting the steel cables which held the trapezes to the metal rings above, and he watched them fall slowly... slowly...** Bam**. He sniffed in remembrance, a single tear falling form his cheek.

He remembered his parents. Then, he remembered his father.

Bruce Wayne. Yes, that was his name, the man behind the bat. The facsimile, the mask of the true person, this was what Bruce Wayne really was. And then, there was the Batman. What words could describe his mentor when he was first sworn into the service of justice? What words could describe the exhilaration and excitement of flying on grappling hooks for the very first time like the trapeze he had left behind? And the costume, his familiar red, green, yellow and black costume with his oval black mask... it had always felt like a second skin.

He had loved his life, loved Bruce like a real father, and now, he was going to miss them. Now, he'd never get the chance to go back.

The last thing he remembered was his assignment here in Jump City, and the falling out with Batman. It wasn't really a falling out, more like a distancing between the two of them that neither one could explain; perhaps it was his desire to be more than Robin, sidekick of Batman. Maybe it was something about him always living in Batman's shadow that he wanted to overcome; whatever it was, Batman had suggested to him to come here, to this town, and give him the experience of a lifetime: find friends you could depend on, and hang onto them. It was something that made him different than Batman, who preferred to work alone; he hoped that, one day, when all was said and done, he'd be able to stay that way, whatever that meant.

He liked having friends, and he wished he'd said good bye.

Just before he hit the rocks and in the middle of the phrase, "good bye", he felt himself drop into a pair of arms surprisingly slender, and he cracked open his eyes to see his savior. Surprised, he laughed hoarsely, and said, "Thought it would be you. That's irony for you."

* * *

Raven prayed as Starfire watched with large eyes, blinking them severely as a rush of generated wind swept over their heads, surprising Slade and pitching him backwards a good few meters. The villain caught sight of what it was that had surprised him, and then he understood, and gave a short, barking laugh. "I had a feeling it was you. Well, this fight just got even more interesting."

* * *

The sight was something extraordinary, unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and Starfire had seen some pretty strange things in her lifetime. 

But what really made this strange was the figure of Red X, hovering in midair, with a barely conscious Robin cradled in open arms. Landing, the figure strode over and placed the Boy Wonder in her arms, nodded, and said, "Guess there's no point to masks anymore." The first thing to go were the gloves, revealing small but powerful hands, and then, off came the mask, whipped off with gusto as a wave of raven black hair fell shoulder length upon the Red X uniform.

"Take care of him, Star. He's in shock, but he's going to be alright."

Starfire continued to stare, her eyes blinking rapidly in disbelief.

**Troia was Red X.**


	9. 9: Some Truth About Troia

**ravenrocs4eva**- It's ok: hardly anyone else saw it coming either LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Alexnandru Van Gordan**- If you look back through the chapters, I've given you more than just the "not in the room" thing that reveals that Red X and Troia are the same. I'll have a full list in the next chapter! Plus, yeah, I always pictured Robin to be Richard Grayson more than Tim Drake. The attitude, the skills, the relationship with Starfire (or non-relationship, depends on how you look at it)... yeah, definitely DG instead of TD. Like I've said the first chapter of SINKING INTO SLADE, I am a HUGE Batman fan, to the point where I usually don't have to look up things in regard to specific details like that: I already know. In the comics, it's the same person, which makes it even easier to know, since I used to watch the original Batman Adventures religiously (no lie, I did!). And I'll try and update ASAP, okie dokie? I don't want you to be bored... Boredom sucks LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Closetwriter**- LOL, Sorry, but I didn't put Jericho or his brother in here, and Tim Drake wouldn't be the same age as Robin at this time. Nope, it's Troia! LOL I thought that might be a really, REALLY cool surprise... I'll compile a list that tells how many hints I gave out about Red X's ID, just so you can see everything, but yeah, Red X is Troia! Hehehehe, and yes, please calm down before you hyperventilate! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**KaliAnn**- I'm happy you're enjoying it Kali! Thanks for noting me!

**Infamous One**- Thanks! I hope I did a good job doing the fight scene, and yeah, Troia's Red X! Thanks for reviewing!

**aleema-darkrose1**- LOL well you should've went with your first instinct! Yup, most times, I take the crazy idea route, and usually, with the amount of twists in it, I can make it so that hardly ANYBODY knows what I'm thinking as the story unfolds. And it's funny when the big picture comes into play, and you realize that what you thought was "background" filler isn't that at all: it's actually relevant to the plot, and enhances it at the same! I'm happy you like this fic, I really put about 200 more work into this one than usual, so I was hoping people would appreciate it more. And SIS is your next favorite? Wow, I think I should go give that author a cookie because she did a great job! Winks back LMAO! Thanks for reviewing!

**Aeris-Raven**- Yes, yes, and yes! And take a look at some of the text I wrote about that "talk":

_"I think I better let Troia handle some of that," said X, and pulled out a communications device from inside his glove...When he pressed play... The recording continued..."_

Now granted, I cut a lot of that stuff, but look at the words I used. Those were clues that what they were seeing and hearing was already RECORDED, meaning it wasn't a live conversation. That was a big clue that Troia was elsewhere when it was played. All she had to do was, as Red X, make sure the recording was stopped and played at the right moment, and she'd be home free. And I agree, Raven's got wisdom; she's definitely an old soul, because of everything she's had to live through. I always see her as the protector type, and a bit of a "sage". Yeah, Slade's prone to do random things; that's part of what makes Slade who he is. Also, he suspected that Red X was Troia, just like he pieced together that Robin was Red X in "Masks", so why not test the theory? Give "X" the opportunity to expose "himself"? And YAY! Go Troia! WHOOO! Thanks for reviewing!

**Insanity for Dummies**- He, he, yeah, it's easy to lose track of the story when you're trying to take it all in. Sometimes you miss the subtle things that really drive the story when everything is all said and done. And are you crazy? No, this isn't the end of Slade and Robin! And yeah, the whole "falling to your death" thing is what it took for Robin to get his memory back... or, at least most of it. As you'll hear at the end of this chapter and the next, some bits aren't the same anymore... Thanks for reviewing!

**Dlsky**- Are you kidding me? of course he's not going to come back the same! After being brainwashed like that? Yeah, he's going to have to rebuild his life again. This entire deal has changed him in and out, and it's changed the Titans too. Everything they've known about themselves, their relationship... between Robin and the Titans, it's pretty much destroyed. He trusts them, as you've seen with his conversation with Raven, and he remembers the good times, but things are completely twisted around for him now. He's permanently changed from this ordeal. Troia too, is changed. As you'll see, she and Robin have a lot of common ground to walk on, and there's a chance for a good, solid friendship from that, but with the rest of the Titans... that's iffy. Robin's battled them, done things he can't condone, was brainwashed into being his worst enemy's son, and his memory's been completely stripped, and shoved back at him. He's been broken, battered, and hastily glued back together, trying to be who he once was again, and he'll learn that he just can't do it. Troia and her relationship with the Titans also have served a beating: she's lied to them, mistrusted him, hid her intentions and her skills. Her life's been one big case of shattering a glass window, gluing back in place, and then doing the same thing again and again. Her soul, although strong, is in pretty bad shape, and she can break at any moment if she's not careful. So it's an interesting thing... And I personally love Raven as the peacemaker. It seemed fitting that the one who could potentially destroy the world would be the best peacemaker lol! And you've already guessed at exactly what I was planning! Great minds think alike, huh? And don't worry: the last thing I want to do is start riding the roller coaster backwards when I'm supposed to go forwards! Thanks for reviewing!

**AriesFalcon**- Okies, sounds like a plan! And she was? Good eye! Yeah, Troia is definitely Red X, and I'll include a list in the next chapter of all the ways I gave that proves it! And thanks for the suggestion: maybe I will do a song fic... I have an idea in mind for Terra, actually... I'm listening to the music right now. Hmm, that's sure darned appealing... Anyway, I actually AM a RobRae kind of girl, because I think out of all of them, there's so much between them that it's hard to ignore. However, in this fic and the last, it's clear that the girls both love Robin, and I never intended for them to be like that... Really, the storyline's neither RobRae nor RobStar, and it's not BBRae or BBStar, or CyStar or CyRae or anything of that nature... There's some CyJinx though, so I guess that's the only true romance in this fic. Anyway, I'm glad you like it, and one of these days, I'm going to do a true RobRae and a true RobStar fic, so be on the look out for those! Thanks for reviewing!

ALRIGHT! So were all of you guys surprised on Red X's ID? I tried my best to make it ambiguous as possible! I had a lot of you fooled! Congrats to the two people who figured it out though, **Alexnandru Van Gordan** and **AresFalcon**! YAY! You rule Dudes! Way to be! Now, on with the show!

**EDIT:** Also, if, by some odd reason, you find this chapter lack luster in quality, I personally apologize: to me, this chapter seems like filler only, and it bothers me for just that same reason. So, I personally am sorry if this chapter isn't as great as other's (then again, how can I top the last chapter? LOL!)

* * *

Starfire couldn't believe it. No, this wasn't possible! Her friend Troia was Red X? That had to be lunacy! There was no way she could be! But the evidence was staring her right in the face, for all the world to see. 

Troia was Red X, and she had lied.

The raven-haired teen looked from her, to the half-conscious Robin in the Tamaranean's arms, and then at Raven, who was just fully coming out of her trance. She didn't seem ashamed of what she'd done, nor proud; she was just... indifferent. "What?" she asked, clearly puzzled.

"You are the Red X?"

"Yes she is, Star," replied Raven for Troia, rubbing her forehead jewel slightly.

Starfire was amazed, and looked backwards at her friend. "And you know this?"

"It was hard for her not to. She's not psychically gifted for nothing," muttered Troia, before deep, throaty laughter made her stiffen.

* * *

It was Slade who laughed, laughed so hard he almost couldn't stand it, and if Troia could see his face, he was sure she could see the laughter within his eyes. Troia was Red X! Ha! Just as he suspected! There was no one else who could perform the moves she could, and match him blow for blow. Even Robin, with what little training he'd had as of late, couldn't have bested the mastermind that easily. No, the only ones who knew how to block him so effectively and with such ease were Troia and himself. There was no other being on the planet who knew him quite like she did. 

After all, they had... history.

"I see you've reverted back to what you were, Darkstar. Were you trying to impress me, or stop me?"

She whirled around on the heels of her combat boots and glared at him, her own face a mask of hatred. "I came here to stop you, once and for all."

"Then by all means. Try and stop me."

Troia snarled ferally, and vaulted from her feet in an attempt to tackle him, but Slade was much too smart for that. He calmly reached into a pocket in his belt and drew out a sphere about the size and shape of a baseball, two buttons fitted into place on one side. He gripped the ball in one hand and watched, taking his time before he squeezed them both at the last minute. Instantly, the ball whizzed into the air, engulfing both him and his adversary in a dome of azure blue. It took a bit before the effects were revealed, and when they were, Troia gasped with surprise as she dropped like a rock in a wading pool. Tasting dirt, she spat it out and raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"I'm sure you'll like this little device, Troia: it's a Neural, Physical Inhibitor, or NPI. I bet you can't guess what it does?"

* * *

What the hell was he talking about? This blue dome was... weird. She felt weird, abnormal, strange, but she couldn't place it at all until she leapt up and flew. 

Or really, tried to fly. Instead, she cried out as she fell, face first, into the cliff side, a sharp rock slashing a gash in her palm. _No, this couldn't be happening. No, it couldn't..._

Slade guffawed triumphantly, his point proven. "You're wasting your time, little girl. You're so far out of your league this time. An NPI mentally represses the abnormalities created in a person's genes that deal with superhuman powers. When those are blocked, then a person's power cannot be used, meaning your powers of flight, strength, agility and speed are utterly useless."

_**What?**_ Wide eyed, she glared at him, confused. Her powers were gone? She was normal?

"Looks like you're going to have to face me on your own, Troia. And don't bother trying to get out of the circle: it's designed to keep its captives inside, so you have nowhere to run."

"I can still take you!" she declared with more optimism than she felt, readying into a fighting stance. "Besides, the same goes for you, doesn't it, Slade? No more super soldier serum to keep you going? No more quick reflexes and super speed? You're just an ordinary man. And I'm still Troia, with or without my powers."

"Wrong," he laughed, watching her with his one eye. "You see, this NPI was programmed to block certain, natural powers, not chemically enhanced ones. I didn't program it to stop every power in the circle; I programmed it to stop yours, and any of the other Titans' if they so chose to interfere. You're mine, Troia, for the third time."

Suddenly, he launched his body at her, faster than her now human eyes could see. A blur! To the left! No, the right now! No, he was gone! A blow to her jaw sent her reeling, her tongue already tasting blood as she spat it out on the ground. This was not good! He was too fast! A blow to her stomach sent her to her knees, and a snap kick to her nose broke it in two, crimson rain splashing the rock surface beneath her.

Ten seconds. It had taken Slade ten seconds to weaken her, and she hadn't thrown a punch.

Raven and Starfire both screamed, and the witch was coming closer and closer when the dark haired teen held out a hand to stop her. "STOP! Raven, stay back! He's got this thing rigged up to where it'll zap your powers too! If you want to help, stay out of this. I can handle it on my own!"

Troia closed her eyes, recalling sessions of teaching that she hadn't quite forgotten as well as she wanted to, and calmed her senses. Images flashed in her mind of her own death if she didn't make it out alive, but she pushed them to the side, ignoring them completely. There was something inside of her, something within her that she knew could battle Slade, if she could only... reach... that far...

A haymaker whizzed towards her left eye, and it took but a moment for her muscles to react on instinct, blocking the punch. A brutal scissors kick followed, and she blocked that as well, gaining a rhythm and defending on impulse. Sooner than later, she could easily anticipate each punch and jab, stopping each one as it tried to strike.

On her feet now, the teen danced, twisting her body in ways she never remembered she could, and it all came back to her: the hours of teaching, the years of training, everything. With every strike, she became more and more like her former self, with only one difference.

This time, she was fighting for her friends, and not for him.

Slade clearly saw the changes come over her, and he backed away, his voice filled with glee. "I see you're back to being yourself, Darkstar."

"No, I just remembered a few things," she replied angrily, but kept her temper in check.

"No, I think you're remembering the past."

"I'm not going back there. I'm not your little lap dog, Slade."

"You weren't before."

"**YOU USED ME**! As soon as Dark Angel killed me, that sick, twisted mind of yours went into overdrive. You schemed a way into my life, and I've hated you ever since."

He shrugged, unconcerned. "I always get what I want, Troia. And I wanted you and your powers. You were everything Robin could've been, and more."

"X... X..." A new voice this time, and Troia turned, astonished to find Robin, leaning heavily on Starfire, her arm around his waist and supporting his weight. "Whatever your name is..."

That moment's hesitation was enough for Slade to strike. Using his superior speed, he whipped her legs our from under her, and clamped a boot on her throat, choking her. "And you could be mine again, Troia. All I have to do is kill you, and find you, and then I can have you all over again."

Her hands clasped around his ankle, and she gritted her teeth, seething with determination and surprising strength. "Don't... count on it..." Not batting an eyelash, she twisted, grinning satisfactorily as she heard the bones snap in two. He plummeted toward the right and she leapt to her feet, whirled around, and grabbed him by the collar, a feral grin washing across her features. "I've wanted to kill you for so long, Slade, I don't know the meaning of the word 'mercy'. You ruined my life, for the last time."

"Troia!" Robin's voice was weak, but it was as loud enough to draw her attention. Guess Starfire had told him her name... "Troia... stop."

She ignored him, and slammed Slade into the ground. "You lying, scheming, satanic son of a bitch, I've had enough of you! You've haunted my dreams too much already." A sudden thought came to her mind and she relished it, grinning wider. "You've been the bane of my existence, Slade; a never-ending nightmare that's got to stop. You've been the one haunting my dreams, right alongside Dark Angel, but now, I'm in control. How does it feel Slade? How does it feel to be weaker than me, even without my powers? Tell me, Slade: you've been haunting me, but have I been haunting you? What do you fear? Are you staring her down right now? Hmm? Does the thought of me being so close yet so far taunt you, torment you, drive you crazy because you can't have me?" She laughed insanely, frenzied by having him exactly where she wanted, and she drew him closer to her, whispering in his ear now. "You say you always get what you want, Slade, but guess what? This time, you don't. Game over. You lose."

"Theatrics were always your strong suit," muttered the villain, before a quick burst of muscular activity caught her by surprise, and a two inch blade embedded itself in her arm.

* * *

Howling in pain, she dropped him, her other hand already trying to dig the knife out with bloodied fingers. 

She could only watch as he limped to his feet, his super soldier serum already doing its effects and healing his broken ankle. He considered her for a moment, before he drew another knife, playing with it in his fingers. "All it would take is one good, clean shot, Troia. One shot, and you would be mine again.

He never had a chance. A shape tackled him from behind and, surprised, he turned his head to the side and saw his former "son" slowly get to his feet. "Leave her... alone, Slade."

"My, my. How fast we crawl back to the home we left," he commented, almost comically sarcastic. "I didn't think you'd be rejoining my side so soon, Robin."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night," grunted the Boy Wonder, preparing his own fighting stance. "Leave her alone. You want a fight? Let's go."

Slade shook his head, a hand digging into a pocket of his belt. "No, I don't want to fight you, Robin. Not when you're like this. You can barely stand on your own two feet. Another day, Robin. Another day." Quicker than Robin could see, the mastermind threw a few gas pelts on the ground and melted into the darkness they created, his form gone within seconds of passing through.

Slade was gone, waiting for another day, and another opportunity...

* * *

Robin could feel a weight placed upon his shoulders once more, burdened with the task of going after the criminal once again, but for the moment he was tired, so tired... Collapsing, he fell to his knees and coughed up blood, heartsick and weary from exhaustion. The shocks and the serums were beginning to take their toll... 

"I'll kill you Slade!" he heard someone scream, and he shook his head sadly. Troia wasn't going to give up this vendetta. If she wasn't careful, it was going to kill her soul. Just like his almost died.

"Troia..."

She looked back at him and dropped the bloodied knife she'd been holding in her hand, letting it clatter on the ground before she slid on her knees towards his side, tearing up already skinned knees. "Robin!" For a few moments, he let her cradle him in her arms before he moved slowly towards a belt pocket, producing a boomerang. "Here... break it..."

* * *

She nodded, understanding instantly. With all her normal human strength, she threw it upwards, sighing satisfactorily when it smashed the orb, the dome disappeared, and her strength returned. Carefully, she shifted him in her arms, feeling a few of her slashes and cuts beginning the slow process of healing themselves, and then picked him up, the boy Wonder already half asleep. 

He looked up at her with bleary eyes, and smiled sadly. "I want to know... what happened. Maybe I'm... the only... only one who... who could understand."

Troia smiled back sadly, a few tears running down the X suit she wore, and nodded. "Maybe."

"There's... a doctor... rescue... the doctor... Simms..." And then, he was out cold, drained of everything he had.

"Simms?" A spark of recognition flashed in her mind. "SIMMS!" She flew towards the two heroines, who were approaching them, and handed Robin over to Star again. "be right back, there's someone I need to save still!" And then, she flitted out of sight, following a hunch towards what she hoped was Slade's hideout. There wasn't a moment to lose.

* * *

Her efforts failed her when she approached the surprisingly abandoned lair, kicked in the door, and saw him, dead, hung upon a nail with the noose pulled taught. His face was white and serene, the chair he'd jumped off of toppled on the floor, and she cried outright, horrified. _No, the poor, poor man..._

Troia was speechless, and her heart ached. Although she didn't remember the time they had, she did remember how much she cared for the scientist when they were younger, during a lifetime she lived, and one they both never wanted to remember.

Images flashed in her brain of a black clad form, two long, jagged katars clasped in her hands, glittering silver bracelets complimenting the black mask and plated boots. A cold letter "S" over a golden letter "D" was like lightning, centered in the middle of an armored collar which crept up to the bottoms of her ears. Black, ebony hair was swept up in a braid, then wound up to the top of her head, out of the way. Troia tried to block out these images, but they kept coming, crimson splashed against the cold metal again, and again, and again...

Simms had been there for her when that had happened, blackmailed into the same service she'd been manipulated into. He'd been there all along, and they had been in love, when they were both in their twenties and loving it... It was another life, surreal and horrifying...

She never wanted to be Darkstar again. Even for a moment more between them, she never wanted to go back to that life ever again.

Something fluttered to the floor, and she opened tear-filled eyes, surprised. Something had been situated in his sleeve... She bent down and took a look at it, the folded sheet of computer paper decorated with Stanley's messy scrawl, and in an instant she knew, and she smiled.

He was talking to her beyond the grave. Now, all she had to do was listen.

But she had something to do first. The Titans needed to know everything, after being kept in the dark for so long. They needed to know everything, and she was the only one who could tell them.

Taking the letter with her, she flew back to the Teen Titans, and faced her fate. There was no turning back now.


	10. 10: The Walls Come Down

**Closetwriter-** Yes, in a round about way, he knew. He had a hunch, and when he gets going on a tangent, he pretty much has his mind made up. Heheheh, I hope you're compie is ok after you smashed it against the wall and forgot to leave a review lmao! Thanks for reviewing!

**Insanity 101-** Well, I might be persuaded into making a sequel... _gets mauled by the crazy TT fans_ AH! I SAID **PERSUADE ME**, not **MOB ME**! And it wasn't filler? It seemed like it to me for some reason... Anyway, Yeah, this chapter will be explaining the Darkstar thing, and you'll get it when you read it. And yes, Rob has to be the knight in shining armor (or is that Nightwing in shining armor? Lol) And Simms wasn't that bad... he was a sweet guy, which you'll see in this chapter. You'll know how the Titans survived and whatnot from _SINKING INTO SLADE_. And Sequel? Hmmmm... maybe... you never know... Thanks for reviewing!

**aleema-darkrose1-** I guess the reason why it seemed like filler is because besides the stuff with Troia... nothing much happened. It was basically **ALL TROIA**, all the way, with some bits of Robin playing the hero... It didn't seem like all that much to me. And I agree: I am really liking how I set up that common ground between Troia and Robin. It's part of who they are, and they can relate to each other very much. You'll see even MORE things happening in this chapter that connects the two, and cements a trust between them. I think out of all the characters that I've dabbled with who I have **NOT** created myself, Troia was one of my top favorites. She's just fun to write, and since her back story is so ambiguous to where you didn't know where she was coming from when, it's even more fun because you get to twist the canon on top of itself, creating more new and interesting pieces of writing (which is what I've done with this masterpiece and its predecessor). And heheheh, don't hit yourself in the head too much! Thanks for the review!

**Aeris-Raven-** Don't worry: you get to know **EVEN MORE** about Troia in this chapter, including why she became Red X in the first place. And I mean, the whole shebang: pretty much everything. And yeah, I let Slade get away... so he can live to fight another day! YAY! And I agree, I want to see the ID of the Red X in the cartoon, and yeah, poetic justice: Robin being the one to do it. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**KaliAnn-** You have to hand it to Troia: she's one tough chick. Mentally, she might not be all there, thanks to her obsessions, but physically, she's a monster. She's effectively stronger than Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg combined, so that gives you an idea of how strong and durable she'd have to be. And yeah, Robin's not doing too good, but he'll be ok... he's tough too! And what you sent to me, were those pictures? Because for some reason, I could never get them to show up. Try sending them to me again, ok? Thanks for reviewing!

**Mystyre-** Don't worry, I will! Thanks for reviewing!

**ravenrocs4eva-** Thank you! Well you won't have to wait for long! Thanks for the review!

**AriesFalcon-** Yeah, I liked the RobRae angle a lot better in TT than RobStar. I like RobStar, but I definitely prefer RobRae. And yeah, the style had to change a bit: too many things were happening at one time, and I wanted to make it more like you were "watching an episode" of Teen Titans. The details in _SIS_ were great, because that involved more thinking and mystery than _AHR_. _AHR_ was purely a fight fic, with bits of mysteries sprinkled here and there, so details were lost in the writing of it. And sorry I grossed you out with that Nightwing Nightmare thing: I had to make it so graphic that it literally made you sick. It was a sick dream, something that the Mock Robin in the back of Robin's head put together, to try and keep Robin in line. I had to create an image of something that would make Robin react so violently that he would stay with Slade instead of questioning him. That was the result. And no, I haven't watched Danny Phantom or Xiaolin Showdown, but I've heard they're good... And I have heard of Artemis Fowl and Unfortunate Events, but I've never read them. You'll most likely find me curled up with a fantasy or sci-fi book... Or the Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz, because I worship those books! They're amazing! And thank you for the compliment of being the best writer! I honestly didn't plan for that; mainly the reason why I want to write TT, Farscape, Batman, Kingdom Hearts, etc. fics is because I want to read something almost exactly like it. I want to read a REALLY, REALLY GREAT story, and sometimes, those are hard to find because they're either buried underneath "bad fics", or they're really good, but they don't get the credit they deserve. Sometimes the best way of reading those things is to go about it yourself, and writing it. I'm proud of the way this turned out, and I hope you guys will enjoy future fictions by me with the Teen Titans, or other genres in the DC Universe. Maybe you'd like other projects by me too, but it all just depends on what's going on, and what you like. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

**Dlsky-** Yeah, that's probably it. Nothing much happens besides tying up lose ends, and the Titans get Robin back. And yeah, the Robin and Troia thing is a definite plus. I'm so thrilled with the growth of those two characters, and their connection with each other. When I started this fic, I only planned on having Troia in there. Some how, I wanted to add some sort of fan based character, and since DC Comics did such a fine job creating characters already, I thought I would just borrow one or two. Troia, out of all the Teen Titan female characters (besides Cassie Sandsmark ((the second Wonder Girl)), Argent, Arrowette and Raven) was one of my absolute favorites, and I was disappointed when she wasn't added to the show. Combined with the fact that she was one of the most conflicted characters in the DC Universe and her lack of a rock solid history just sweetened the deal for me. I knew I had my character as soon as I read up on Troia, and from there, my mind began spinning this fiction into a whole new direction. And you better believe it: I want to do a sequel. I've set things up to where I would be a fool not to do another one. Thanks for reviewing!

Well guys, this is it for _A HERO'S REDEMPTION_: the final chapter. Chapter 10, where everything is resolved, and everything is where it should be... or is it? And yes, before you all scream your brains out, **YES: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL**! Like I said to **Dlsky**, I would have to be a fool not to do it, now that I've molded this really cool character, taken from the DC Universe and putting it in TT fiction. And I've set up one of the biggest, intense rivalries ever in TT history: Troia vs. Dark Angel. How can I mention Dark Angel and not go for a fic dealing with her? I hope I can tackle this the RIGHT way, and create a villain that you will love to hate. She's more twisted than Slade: see, through it all, Slade had his reasons for doing what he did: selfish possession and loneliness. He brainwashed Robin because he wanted a companion: he did what he did because he was lonely. He wanted control. Dark Angel is evil incarnate: she does things simply because she can. She maims, murders, kills, and loves every minute of it. She views humans as play toys. She's SICK, I tell you! Completely SICK! You'll loe to hate her in the new sequel, which I hope to start up here in the near future.

You all are in for a treat too: Not only do you get a preview of that one (Titled: _On the Darker Side of Angels_) but also of **ANOTHER** project I'm working on as well that I love to death, and have been burning to write for months now: my version of what a "Smallville" type series would be like if it was in the Batman continuity. _Gotham Knights_ is going to be Batman's first year in existence, and mostly, his clashes with Catwoman, and how she came to be. I have always **LOVED** the Batman/Catwoman connection, and I always wondered what it was like when Catwoman became Catwoman, and why she was who she was, and how that would effect Bruce as Batman. I wanted a Smallville type story in Gotham, and finally, it got to be too much that I sat here and wrote out a preview for it. So, like it or not, I'mcommitted.If it gets to be any good, and I do a really nice job on it, I'll even send it in to Warner Brothers and the people who run Smallville so they could take a look at it. Why not? What do I have to lose? I hope you guys will stick around for that: it's going to be a wild ride.

Anyway, like I promised in chapters past, here are the ways Troia could be Red X, as well as some other interesting tidbits, so here we go:

**_Chapter 2:_** Red X says, "I've heard all I need to know", and the info's from a "she", meaning a girl character. But from what we've seen, the only one who's said anything informative about the situation is Raven. So, the double meaning of X/Troia's statement is that she's heard all she needs to know about Robin... from Raven. And I even said, in the next chapter, that X got his info from "what Raven said".

**_Chapter 3:_** Red X said he got "jinxed on a bad deal" with Slade, and in future chapters, we learn that Slade made a deal with Dark Angel for Troia's location... X knows a lot about Slade's methods for brainwashing. Too much, if you think about it... (you'll know why in this chapter)... Red tells Robin, "I'm more durable than I look!" when Robin's trying to crush his throat, and he says the EXACT SAME THING about Troia when he talks with the Titans later on... I NEVER put Red X and Troia in the same room together, and the "conversation" they had was a recording... Red X's "experiences" with Dark Angel are almost exactly the same thing you'd expect DA to do to Troia... Not to mention that Red X knows TONS about Troia, but she never says a thing about him... X gets annoyed and offended with Cyborg because Cy scanned Troia, and knew she was lying about Slade...

**_Chapter 5:_** When Raven and X are talking, she mentions Red's vendetta, but the only one who possibly had one at the time was Troia against Slade: he sold her out to DA, and she wanted revenge... Plus, X keeps saying something about how he wanted to be someone else. With Troia's situation, wouldn't you want to be someone else too?... Red X says he has "other modes of transportation" to avoid the tsunami wave in the sewers, and Troia can fly...

_**Chapter 6:**_ Red X punched the grate open, which neither Starfire or BB could do. It means that Red X has a measure of super strength that was MORE than Starfire's or BB's. Also his explanation was a bit too flippant, and he wouldn't meet BB's eyes, meaning that he was hiding something... Troia knew about the flooded sewers, and I never explained why... Both Troia and X have an intense hatred towards Slade, and for almost the exact same reasons... One phrase: The Robin/Troia and Robin/Red X comparisons. Slade compares Robin and Troia together, and who else is very similar to Robin in this fiction? Of course: Red X... Right after Red X says he wants to kill Slade, Troia says it TO Slade... Later on, Red X leaves the apartment Troia's in, but she was just out and about, right? And Red X was fixing his glove on his hand, which implied that he was either putting it on, or adjusting it...

_**Chapter 7**_: Red X has mentioned his involvement with Slade, but Slade had no idea who he was!

Also, in this chapter and the previews, I relied heavily on the comics. If there's details in here or there that you're not sure on, 9 times out of 10 they're from the comics. The only thing that's not in there is two 'Titans" named Phaze and Caracol: those two are my creations. You'll see what I mean in the previews. OK, now, for the finale! Hope you all enjoy it! I certainly did when I wrote it! Here we go!

* * *

Here it was, the fabled Titans Tower, a little on the shabby side, but definitely as famous as it still was. The windows might have been faded over with a slight layer of dust, some of the food in the refrigerator had gone especially bad, and cobwebs littered every nook and cranny, but there was no doubt about it: this was Titans Tower, and Troia couldn't believe she was inside of it with the Titans themselves, everything as it should be, complete with the usual uniforms. Even Robin, who, with Cyborg, went immediately to the medical wing and began the long process of flushing his system of every single drug in his bloodstream, as well as taking out the nanites lodged in the back of his brain. There would be no more Mock Robins, not if he had anything to say about it.

As soon as he walked in the door, Beast Boy whistled, shaking his head sadly. "Too bad we couldn't come back here after Slade took Robin. He would've caught us before we were even a thousand feet from the door."

While they were waiting, the experience was almost enjoyable, but when the Boy Wonder and the half-machine came back, things switched from pleasant to unnerving. Five pairs of eyes trained on her as soon as they were ready, four of them accusingly, one with sad empathy; only Robin knew, in a round about way, why she did what she did in the first place. It's what made them similar.

After all, she'd been at Slade's side once or twice too.

Avoiding their questions, she decided to go ahead and go first, to avoid any unpleasant questions first. "I'm sorry guys, but I had to do what I did because my life is not the easiest to deal with."

"First things first," said Raven, opening the round of inquiries. "How did you get the X suit?"

She shrugged, and began her story. "As you probably already know by now, this isn't my first trip to Jump City. I've been here twice before. The first time, I was living here for a couple months, hearing that Slade had surfaced. Because of my hatred, I wanted to destroy him, so I waited for the right time. It was around my fifth or sixth night here when I saw Red X for the first time." She nodded towards Robin. "One night, I saw him outfox the lot of you, and saw him unmask in an abandoned warehouse, right after he talked with Slade. When he ditched the suit later on and locked it away, I got mad. Why would he discard a weapon like that? He built the thing, so why didn't he use it? He could've rid the city of Slade with it for years to come, but did he do it? No."

"And you just decided to steal it and use it yourself?" questioned Cyborg, hard and direct.

"Yes. I waited for weeks, trying to vie for the right moment, until you all were chasing after Slade and that one girl who fell in deep with him. She had blonde hair, I think, blue eyes..."

"Terra," replied Beast Boy softly, remembering. "Terra. Her name was Terra."

"Terra then," she nodded. "I waited until you all had disappeared, and I snuck in. Wasn't hard, thanks to some... training. I stole the suit because Robin wouldn't use it, and sometimes... it's nice not being me. It sucks to be me. I could die anytime, any day, anywhere, thanks to Dark Angel, and I got sick of being myself. So, I became Red X, thanks to a little bit of padding and a really tight corset. The only reason why I didn't run away with the suit and hunt Slade down myself was because it was almost completely drained of xinothium. I had to steal more, and that's when you guys caught me. "

"Why do you hate Slade so much?" Starfire was the next to ask something. "We all have noticed your strange and overzealous behavior in regards to him."

Troia sighed heavily, and shook her head. "That is long, drawn out, and beyond insane, but you guys deserve the truth." Another deep breath, and she began her tale, her voice choking once or twice from the painful memories. "Like I told you all when I was Red X: I'm cursed. Originally, I was a fine, happy go-lucky girl, a mystical, mirror image of Wonder Woman who was brought to life when she was a kid on Paradise Island. The only reason why I remember that at all is because I'll run into something that reminds me of it, and I'll get these flashes of my life there. It's the only way I can recover anything from my previous lives. Anyway, I was happy, and I had someone to play with who I loved like a real sister; everything in my life was wonderful..."

As she trailed off, Raven spoke up. "...Until something happened?"

"Dark Angel happened. She hated Queen Hippolyta, Diana's mother, and she wanted revenge because of some vendetta. I don't know the specifics, but she wanted to get to the queen through her daughter. But she took me instead, mistaking me for Diana."

Starfire nodded sadly. "And this is what causes you to live multiple lives?"

"I'm supposed to undergo severe tragedies and intense pain for all eternity, thanks to DA's curse. I live one life, then it gets screwed up, DA swoops in, taunts me, and laughs at me before she kills me. I'm her favorite toy, because she can do everything under the sun to me, and I can't do a damned thing back to her except prove her wrong. The spell that made me real from the get go would've faded in time, thanks to Diana growing up, but with each life I lived, I got stronger and stronger. I was able to survive."

"But what does that have to do with Slade?" asked Cyborg.

"About thirty years ago, Slade somehow got acquainted with Dark Angel, and she was getting bored. When she gets bored is usually when she decides to go Troia hunting, but the thing was, she couldn't find me. The curse she placed on my head prevented her from ever finding me through sheer intuition. For her, it made hunting season more fun. Anyway, at the time, I was about twenty six, living out my seventy-fifth life, and had just fallen in love with a wonderful man. I don't remember his name, and I probably never will or care to, because this man worked for Slade. Like an idiot, I told him about myself, never knowing that he'd betray me to his master. Slade himself watched me for days after that, and when he was ready, he made a deal with the devil."

At this point, Raven interrupted her. "Wait, then Slade would be a lot younger than he is now, wouldn't he? He couldn't have been..."

"Wrong. Slade himself has a few special abilities. He's got a healing factor, and he's immortal, meaning he can rise back from the dead as many times as he wants, and turn back the clock whenever he feels like it." She watched them all reel in shock, the information too much. "Listen, we can talk about that later, ok? Can I just get back to my story?"

"By all means."

"He struck a deal with Dark Angel, because of one thing he knew about supernatural beings: he knew that they get bored very, very easily. Plus, he was getting lonely, being who he was and doing what he did. He wanted a companion, a confidant..."

"No..." Starfire murmured.

"He played his cards right: he'd tell her my location if she would let him keep me, train me, be his companion for one of my incarnations." Ashamed, she spared a quick, disheartened glance at Robin, addressing him now. "You weren't the first apprentice he had, Robin. It was me." Tears escaped her eyes, and she squeezed them both tight, fighting them back, her mind reliving the experience as she continued. "Dark Angel agreed, grateful for something more interesting, and he told her where to go. She killed me then, and I spent my seventy-sixth life at Slade's side, learning everything from him as soon as I was able to walk. When it was time for me to join him, he didn't have a hard time finding me: he always did seem to find me, no matter what... After awhile, when I was about the age I am now, Dark Angel began to grow tired, and wanted to off me again. Slade wouldn't let her, holding onto me like a little girl would clutch a rag doll. He wouldn't give me up, and she didn't like it. She killed me that night anyway, and I spent my seventy-seventh life wondering what the hell I'd been, because she punished Slade through me: she forced me to remember every single moment of my previous lives. I was so confused, and to top things off, as Slade's apprentice, I'd done some things I'm... not proud of... Reliving those again was a nightmare in itself."

The teen paused from her speech, already tired. "I lived to age twenty, and by some ill point in my life, was stripped of my powers, when I was offered the chance to join an organization known as the Darkstars. They'd gift me with powers as long as I served them, and I was tired of feeling useless. At first, I thought it was just an intergalactic police group, like the Green Lantern Corps, and that was why I joined up, but I was wrong. I didn't know it at the time, but it was really just Slade's way of weeding out the best of the best. What I thought was a police group was really a 24/7 call for the H.I.V.E. Academy. Brother Blood may be the curator of it, but Slade runs the joint, and he wanted the best there was."

"Blood?" Now Cyborg was furious. "You served under Brother Blood?"

"Not by choice. I hated him, to be honest. But my time with the Darkstars brought me back to Slade's attention. He plucked me out of there and started training me into not just his apprentice, but his personal assassin." Shuddering, she bit her lip, the tears still falling. "It's why I envy you, Robin: you were his apprentice, twice. But you never had to kill anyone. I did it for a living."

"When Slade escaped, where did you go?"

She sighed, tired. "A friend of mine was in deep trouble. Stanley was a biochemist that Slade drafted. He was brilliant, and in the beginning he was greedy. At first, he only wanted to be somebody, to be recognized and be important, and Slade came to him, promising all of that. I didn't know it, but he was the one who helped keep me in the dark for as long as I was Slade's apprentice. With his mastery of biochemistry, he slipped me pills, serums, vials of nasty things that kept my memory from me, trying to make me forget since Angel's enchantments prevented my memory from being completely erased. After awhile though, it got to be too much for the both of us, and at the same time, we fell in love. The more we fell in love, the more the weight of his guilt began to get worse. He was ashamed of what he was doing and he wanted to desperately to quit, but Slade wouldn't let him. So he stayed, and in a way, I was happy about it. He was there for me when I... murdered people. I remember crying in his arms, and..." She revealed the letter she'd hidden in a pocket in her uniform, and drew it out, unfolding it as she went. "I'm sure you all are wondering how you survived your encounters with Slade. I read through this already, but I think you need to hear what needs to be said. Stanley would've wanted it that way." Quietly, she began to read, her voice shaking:

"My Dearest Donna,

As you already know by now, I'm most likely dead. But don't feel bad for me, because at least I know that Slade can't use me to harm anyone else again. My wife and son will be safe now, thanks to the sacrifice I have made. Could you please watch over them from time to time? I know that, under your protection, they'll be secure in this world of hatred and greed.

I know your friends, the Titans, are with you now, and I hope to God that they could give you the sense of belonging that I know you've been searching for all your life. They're good kids, and I know that if they knew the real you, like I have, then they'd want you there with them as well. At the same time, I want to say that what happened to them was personally my fault, and I will forever live with the guilt and agony of knowing what had happened to them, and being the cause of their 'deaths'. But when Slade wasn't looking, I made my choice, and I took my chance to reclaim some of the dignity that I lost. Within each calculated formula for a techno virus or a bio destabilizer, for the exact incantations I needed to a nanite infestation, I made... errors. Mistakes. Calculations that Slade would never catch, and I would never tell, just enough to give him the results he desired but also have some... side effects.

For Cyborg, I made an error in the life of the virus. Instead of permanently, I made it last for just a few hours. Raven's was similar, and I knew that, with her strengths outweighing the weaknesses, she would be the one who would mostly benefit from a shorter amount of time. I knew that, if given the chance, she would hide, waiting, be the perfect sub-leader in the moment that the Titans needed her the most. I made a mistake when calculating the correct syllables for the witch girl, Jinx, and so when she hexed the mirror, it would only make Raven encounter her greatest fear, slow her heart down to a miniscule level, and then restart it within the course of an hour. Any more, and she would have died completely. Beast Boy's DNA enzyme was easy enough, thanks to my expertise in biochemistry, and allowed me to program the serum to tear his DNA apart and build it back up again in a single day. Starfire's nanites were programmed to attack her to a point near death for a human, but I've studied Tamaranean organisms before, and I knew the level of shock the robots created wouldn't be fatal for her.

However, as sorry as I am for what happened to them, it doesn't condone for the acts I've committed against you and Robin. My God, Donna, I'm so sorry for hiding your memories beneath drugs and serums; I should have listened to my heart, and stopped doing it before it got out of control. It is your fate and Robin's which I regret the most. Words don't even begin to describe the depths of my shame. I manipulated you, gave you false memories that could've killed your soul, just like it almost did mine to do it. But I had one thing that kept me going: saving you, and saving the boy who reminded me of you. So I made sure that, as time went on, that the dosage I created was watered down, half the amount Slade wanted me to give out, in hopes that somehow, some way, you could both rise above the fog within your minds, and reach towards the light of the sun... When it worked, I made sure to file that information in the back of my mind, in case I would ever have the need to use it again. And I did, when the boy came along. You saved his life, Troia. Because of you, Robin is still alive today.

Again, I am sorry for what I have done to you and your friends, and I hope you can forgive me: I never wanted any of this to happen, but I had to follow orders in order to stay alive. I'll miss you Troia, and I hope, in the end, you will forgive me for what I have done.

Sincerely with love,

Stanley"

For the first time, the Boy Wonder spoke up, surprising them all. "I want you to be a Titan, Troia."

"WHAT?" Cyborg and Beast Boy exclaimed in unison, their jaws dropping. "YOU WANT HER TO BE WHAT?"

"You both heard me." His voice was hard, darker, somehow unlike his regular happy-go-lucky self, and completely business-like. "We could use you, Troia."

"Friend Robin, please, I must protest," spoke up Starfire, distressed. "My Former Friend Troia has lied to us! She has worked with Slade, and her obsessions with his destruction will only..."

"You never threw me out," he replied. "I did the exact same thing for almost the exact same reasons, and you never threw me out."

"But we need you, Robin! We cannot act as a team without..."

"Yes you can. You all figured out Slade's plan and rescued me from making the biggest mistake of my life. You all worked together to bring down Mad Mod when we switched ages. You all stopped me from fighting myself to death. No, you can do plenty of things without me. In fact," he looked up, an expression half of pain and half of interest crossing his face, "I think I need to leave."

"Robin," Troia started, shocked, folding the note back up and replacing it in her pocket. "No, you're the leader of the Titans! You should be here, leading them..."

"No, YOU should be here, leading them. I'm going to put that leadership opportunity in your hands, Troia. I trust you."

She was flabbergasted, as were the rest of them, but she shook her head, denying it. "No. I could never lead the Titans. I'm not a leader, not like you. I don't belong here at all." She immediately started floating on air, and flew towards the door, disheartened. "I don't belong here at all. I'll see you later, Titans. Hopefully."

Something was thrown in her direction, and she caught it before it smashed into the back of her head; a canary yellow Titans communicator rested in her hand. Robin nodded, accepting her statement, and started walking in her direction, joining her. "It's so you can communicate with me or with them whenever you need it. Right now, if you don't mind, I'll walk with you, but I don't know about afterwards... I need to be alone for awhile, I think."

"Friend Robin, you cannot go!" screamed Starfire, her orange and delicate hands clasping on his black and yellow cape. "You must stay here with me and..."

Shockingly, he slapped her hands away and yelled back at her, something inside of him snapping. "NO! Too much crap has happened to me, and I am NOT staying here! I'm not the same Robin anymore, Star, and I don't belong here anymore than Troia does."

"So you're going to go run off with her and make your own Titans team?" mocked Beast Boy.

"No. I created the Teen Titans, and that's enough for me. No more gangs, no more teams. No more partners. I just need to be alone for awhile, and if you all are my friends, you'll leave me alone." He looked towards Troia and nodded again, his face impassive. "Let's go. I need to think."

She was flattered to have company, but shook her head. "No. You're not coming with me. If you want to leave, fine. But at least say good bye to them all first. It's the least you could do." Her eyes swept from face to face, and she smiled as warmly as she could. "Good bye, my friends." And with that, she was gone, disappearing in the same way she came without another thought.

She wasn't a Titan, and would never feel like one. At least, not today. But maybe, one day... Some day...

Outside the tower now, a sound alerted her from behind, and she glanced over, surprised. There he was, the ward of Batman himself, and he did something she was surprised to see him do.

With both green gloved hands, he reached towards his face and pulled off his mask, letting her see him entirely for the first time. Clearly puzzled, she stared into his deep blue eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What...?"

"I've been with these guys for God knows how long, and I've never told them my name or showed my face. You're the first one to see me for who I really am."

"Why are you telling me this? Why are you showing me? I'm not a Titan, I might never be one, and to tell you the truth, I don't know you from Adam, Robin. I don't know your favorite color, I don't know your favorite food, or your favorite place to hang out on a Saturday night. I don't understand: why?"

He considered this, and nodded, understanding. "Because you've been there, in my shoes, before. You've been in the exact position I was in, not knowing who you were anymore. You didn't know who to trust or where you stood, who you really were or what to do. You've been through hell and back because of that sick and twisted bastard, and I think, because of that, you understand me more than anyone else in the world. I feel like I can trust you completely because we've got a lot in common."

"I thought you said you wanted to be alone?"

"I do. That's why I'm only walking part of way. Sometimes, you need to do things on your own, you know? Like I said back in the Tower, I don't belong there anymore. Too much stuff's happened to me, and maybe, this is for the best. I can clear my head, and adjust to how I am now. Like or not, this is me." he gestured with his hand, holding it up and gazing at it for a moment before he set it back down again. "I just have to get used to it. And I could use a friend who's gone through the same things I have."

Troia agreed. "Yeah, I feel that way too. And whether I like it or not, I could use someone I can rely on. I don't have very many friends."

"My name's Richard Grayson," he began, and held out his hand.

"Donna Troy," she replied, and clutched it, shaking firmly.

And she knew that this was going to be the start of a wonderful friendship, no matter where they split off at. It was the one and only certain thing in her uncertain world and she knew it was going to last for a very long time, no matter where they roamed.

They were Slade's apprentice, and now, they were friends. Life was always uncanny like that. Always.


	11. PREV: On the Darker Side of Angels

**PREVIEW:** _On the Darker Side of Angels_ (Teen Titans)  
**(Sequel to**: **SINKING INTO SLADE** and **A HERO'S REDEMPTION)  
Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** I own the words on this page and the USE of Troia in Teen Titans. Otherwise, I'm just borrowing from DC Comics  
**Author's Note:** I couldn't resist. Now that I've built up all this Slade stuff, the relationship with Troia and the Titans (especially Robin) and introduced a potentially LETHAL villain known as Dark Angel, this had to be done. It absolutely HAD TO. Enjoy this preview.

* * *

**ONE YEAR LATER...**

He hadn't seen her coming.

She was fast, too fast, and through his V mask, he had a hard time tracking her movements, but instinct told him where to block and punch. A side kick was millimeters from connecting with his jaw, but he spun away at the last minute and heel kicked, his assailant blocking it with accuracy as his foot connected with metal.

Metal?

Flashes of images appeared in his head, and he smiled wide, recognizing why this "villain" seemed so familiar to him. He hadn't seen her in over a year, but he could tell, she'd gotten better. Way better. Almost as good as he was, but there was no comparison.

Troia couldn't hack it like he could.

He faked a right cross and went in with a left, catching her off guard. The blow sent her reeling into the side of a wall. Laughing, he held out a hand, and spoke. "Need a hand?"

"I almost had you."

"Donna, you weren't even close."

She accepted his grip, and he pulled her up, noticing details he hadn't seen before. Instead of her usual, red clad garb, it was replaced with a jumpsuit of black, starry outlines dotting everywhere and giving her an unearthly glow. A tight, sterling silver choke collar rested against her throat, star earrings in her ears, and her bracelets were new, engraved with stars and longer than the originals, now coming almost all the way down to her elbows. She was taller than she had been, shorter than him now by a few inches, and she had a more bright and cheery disposition that he hadn't seen in her before.

He was sure she was surprised to see him as well, now clad in a suit almost entirely of black, the outline of a great blue bird stretching from the middle of his chest to half way down his shoulders, the fowl's wingspan reaching to mid-bicep. His hair was no longer gelled; instead, it was shorter in the back, longer pieces falling in his eyes and over his new mask. A metallic utility belt rested on his waist, and the absence of his black and yellow cape made him look taller, stronger, more imposing. Metal gauntlets encircled his wrists, a token of the past, and he watched her smile sadly when she saw them.

"Looks like we both can't shake the past, huh?" She held up her wrists. "I got a pair of those too. Shackles. Just like he shackled us, right?"

He didn't want to think about it too much. Changing the subject, he gestured towards her, admiring her new uniform. "Nice clothes, Troia. I kind of miss the red and yellow though. And I keep wondering if you'd get lost on a starry night."

"Camouflage, my dear Richard. Camouflage." And she winked back at him, doing a once over with her eyes after. "And what about you? What am I going to call you now? Obviously you're not Robin anymore. By the way, nice digs yourself. Very macho. Compliments your abs a lot better than the red and green."

"Nightwing. You can call me Nightwing."

"I'll call you an idiot first. Why haven't you kept in touch with us?"

Us. Knowing full well who exactly she meant, he just shrugged, trying not to show regret. "I've been busy. Gotham doesn't protect itself when Batman and I aren't patrolling. And the new girl we've got, Batgirl? She's still a novice on cape and cowl duty. She can't hack it like we can."

Troia nodded, understanding. "You know that's a load of bull right?"

"Completely."

"Listen, Rich, this is probably the time where I'm supposed to go into one of those 'we need you' sort of speeches, but I'm going to cut to the chase." Her eyes subtly got harder, and she clenched a fist. "Slade's back in town. This time though, he's different. There's no fun and games when it comes down to it. He's changed, and it's not for the better."

Slade. The name still enraged and enflamed his anger, even after all this time. "What's he done now?"

"For one, he's not... afraid, to kill."

Time stopped. "Kill?"

"When you left, about two months later, Cyborg calls me on my Titans communicator. They wanted me back, give me another start. He said that they had made a mistake, and they just needed time to cool down. They wanted me back and, since I was in Star City, visiting Ollie at the time, he encouraged me to go. So I did, and I was surprised as anyone to see a couple new faces with Starfire, Raven, Cy and Beast Boy. One of them was a boy about our age, maybe a little less. Jericho was his name. He was mute, thanks to some accident that we couldn't even guess at, and he had the power to jump from mind to mind, taking control of other people's powers. We never knew his history until Slade came into town."

Nightwing was concerned. "What happened?"

"Slade was Jericho's father and he... killed him. Something had slowly been happening to Joe, and we never knew until it was too late. He'd been inhabited from souls that were slowly driving him insane. He finally just ran straight towards Slade's blaster just to end his life. Slade... was so different after that. It was like he didn't have anything else left to lose. After Joe, he also killed Phase and Caracol, two recruits we gained from the H.I.V.E. Academy."

"Besides the Slade angle, what does this have to do with me? Why did you really come here, Troia?"

She sighed, most likely recognizing how sharp he really was and how well he knew her. "We want you back, Rich. Raven's been the leader for awhile now, but she's no you. The Titans need someone who can be someone they could look up to, someone who knows their strengths and weaknesses and can put them to good use. We need someone who can keep a relatively level head, and grace under fire. We need you, Nightwing. Now, more than ever. So the real question is, are you going to help? Or am I going to have to drag you back there kicking and screaming? What's it going to be?"


	12. PREV: Gotham Knights: Two Sides, Two Sto...

**PREVIEW:** _Gotham Knights:_ Two Sides, Two Stories  
**Part of the new Gotham Knights Extended Fiction Series** (Meaning every time I update, the chapter's all ONE STORY, not parts or chapters of one big one. Think of it as Batman episodes: They all tell about Batman's life and triumphs and tribulations, but they could all be considered "Stand Alone" pieces. Except for the trilogies and duos like Teen Titans' "Apprentice" duo, or Batman Beyond's "The Call" twosome. Consider each chapter as an "episode", complete with trilogies and arcs now and then, when I think of really, really good stuff.)  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Summary:** The first year of the Batman has its moments, especially concerning a certain feline fatale...

* * *

Tripping the alarm had been the easy part. At South and Main, the biggest jewelry shop alive ran its business on the corner, just beckoning to be stolen from; to be honest, she just did it a favor: she complied. But surprisingly, the name of the game wasn't jewel thief. In fact, there was nothing in it besides the cash in the cash register that made her shatter a jagged hole in the storefront window with just her slightly high heeled combat boot. 

Well, besides tall, dark and handsome. If only he'd show up.

Her claws picking through the glass, she slid through the hole easily, the circumference of it just big enough for her form, and she hopped off the display shelf, her feet landing light as a feather. The object in question was the antique cash register situated on the far wall, the one she knew the employees dumped every cent from the electronic ones into. She'd spent enough time watching them, marking their movements and compromising her location more than once, so she knew just how to disarm and unlock the safe.

When would he get here?

Approaching the machine, she used her newly sharpened claws to undo the screws in an almost invisible panel below it, and threw the plate to the side, gazing in at the countless numbers of wires and gizmos inside the tiny space. It was an electro pulse generator, able to not only deliver an almost lethal shock to anyone who even touched the register, but also to immediately trip an alarm, alerting the police of any accomplices as well. From what she understood from electronics, which was extensive thanks to a little place called the library and a few crank calls to the FBI, she immediately identified which wires were good, which were bad, and which would trip the cops. Taking a tiny pair of wire clippers from a pocket in a decorative utility belt around her slender waist, she first clipped the blue wire, the one to alarm the cops, and set to work, snapping the green, red and yellow wires in sequence.

Satisfied she'd done her job, she tossed the utensil lightly at the machine's keys, pleased that when she did so, they didn't charge with an electric shock, and slid her claws right between the cracks and creases of the cash drawer, careful not to chip her stainless steel nails in her gloves of their black paint. Then, with a mighty push forward, the thing sprung free, the lever maneuver providing enough force to break the lock. A quick grab of the twenties and tens and she was free, somersaulting over the display shelf once again and shimmying back through the hole she'd created. No problem.

And then, she turned around, and ran smack dab into hard, gray and black clad abs, and strong hands gripped her shoulders gently but forcefully. "And just where do you think you're going?"

She glanced up at him through her green goggled eyes and cat cowl, her eyes widened with surprise and delight, and she couldn't help but purr back at him. "I was thinking about grabbing a cocktail and settling up some old debts. You want to come with? I could use a strong, handsome man for company."

"Who are you?"

"I'm surprised you don't know. I thought the ears and the occupation completely gave me away." A sharp knee to the groin made him stumble back and groan, the grip on her completely free, and she sprang towards an alleyway and up an escape ladder, reaching the roof before either of them knew it.

Against the moonlight, her eyes gazed downwards at him and she blew him a kiss, smart and sassy in a way she never was before. "I'm Catwoman, at your service. Now are we done here, or do you want to play some more?"


End file.
